Salzburg Global Fellows call for policy change to promote fairness, sustainability and resilience of care systems
Every individual will need care at some point in their lives; every individual will give care at some point in their lives. Care for self and others is fundamental to building and maintaining social relations and its value to individuals, families and societies is truly incalculable. Care is also a productive activity, deserving of appropriate compensation, and a crucial resource for human and economic development.
From October 17 to 22, 2022, Salzburg Global Seminar, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, held Health and Economic Well-being: Gender Equity in Post-Pandemic Rebuilding.
For four days, the program brought together 60 participants from around the world, representing different sectors that can influence gender equity at all levels, from citizens, to communities, civil society organizations to policymakers.
Together they explored what it would look like to place the health and economic well-being of women at the center of COVID-19 recovery, with a focus on economic participation, opportunity and inclusion, as well as working conditions and culture.
Following this session, program participants drafted a Salzburg Statement on the Value of Care and Caregiving. Led by Stefania Ilinca, Technical advisor for long-term care at WHO Europe, and Hania Sholkamy, Co-chair of the Care Work Taskforce of the National Council for Women of Egypt. They set out priorities and recommendations to appropriately recognize, value and support care and caregivers and promote fairness, sustainability and resilience of care systems. Through this statement, Salzburg Global Fellows are calling for policies and actions that will help achieve that goal.
"In the face of global ageing and persistent social inequities, the Salzburg Global Statement on the Value of Care and Caregiving is a paramount call to action. The role of care and caregiving has long been underrecognized, but it is truly the foundation upon which societies are built. We’re proud of this work and look forward to supporting this statement to be more than an expression of intent, but a commitment to shape a more compassionate and equitable future for all”, stated Mary Helen Pombo, Salzburg Global’s Program Director for Health.
Download the Salzburg Statement as a PDF
On Tuesday, October 31st at 15:00 CET, WHO Europe will celebrate care and caregivers in honor of the first International Day of Care and Support and will dive further into the statement and how international, cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary partnerships can help accelerate progress towards a shared vision of gender equality and caring societies.
Stefania Ilinca will be one of many to speak on the Statement and the topic of care during the webinar: “Care is a universally shared human experience and deeply woven in the social fabric. Families, communities, economies are built on and rely on the provision of care and support. Care benefits everyone but it is not equally shared and it is not adequately valued. As traditional care and support structures shift and fray, there is a role for every government, every organization and every individual to join the conversation and participate in the effort to recognize, reward and enhance the value of care and caregiving in modern and gender equal societies."
To hear more, you can register at the following link: https://who.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwoce6trjouHNGYhgPGbgj2EKKhM8kDp7Jb
Read the full Salzburg Statement below:
To further the reach and impact of the Statement, we encourage you to share it with your network. If you or your organization would like to collaborate to amplify this Statement and its mission, send an email to Mary Helen Pombo, Program Director for health at Salzburg Global at mpombo@salzburgglobal.org.
Current endorsements:
- Atyia Anis, Senior Manager, Communications, Institute for What Works to Advance Gender Equality ( IWWAGE), New Delhi, India
- Carla Barros, Well-being Program Manager, EDP, Lisbon, Portugal
- Poonam Barua, Founder and Chairman, Forum for Women in Leadership, and Director, PAMASIA Global, New Delhi, India
- Holly Birkett, Director of the Work Inclusivity Research Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Bettina Borisch, Professor and Executive Director, World Federation of Public Health Associations, Geneva, Switzerland
- Melissa Boteach, Vice President, Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning, National Women's Law Center, Washington, DC, USA
- Luciana Caseiro, HR Specialist, Diversity & Inclusion, EDP, Lisbon, Portugal
- Leesa Cheeser, Non-executive Director and consultant, Blue Sky Consulting Australia Pty Ltd, Adelaide SA, Australia
- Sue Egersdorff, Charity Founder, Ready Generations, United Kingdom
- Julia Fäldt Wahengo, Advocate for gender equality
- Jocelyn Frye, National Partnership for Women & Families, Washington DC, United States
- Stefania Ilinca, Technical advisor for long-term care, WHO Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark
- International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) – organizational endorsement
- Sonia Malaspina, HR Director Italy & Greece, Danone, Milan, Italy
- Fatima Masse, Director, Economic and Social Analysis, Mexico City, Mexico
- Seroshi Nandasiri, Founder & Chairperson, Women's International Foundation, Sri Lanka
- Mary Helen Pombo, Program Director, Health, Salzburg Global Seminar, Austria
- Tammy Pustilnick, Co-founder of Descentralizadas, Concepción, Chile
- Esteban Daniel Szmulewicz Ramirez, PhD Candidate, Leiden Law School, Law Professor at Universidad Católica del Norte, Netherlands/Chile
- Giovanna Rosato, Head of Legal & Compliance Italy & Greece, Danone, Milan, Italy
- Hania Sholkamy, Co-chair of the Care Work Taskforce of the National Council for Women of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
- Teresa C. Younger, President and CEO, Ms. Foundation for Women, Brooklyn, United States
