APEC Women & Economy Forum in Seattle Features Asia Foundation Experts on Care Economy

The Asia Foundation’s experts furthered high-level discussions on the Care Economy at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Seattle. At the forum, Elizabeth Silva and Ankita Panda highlighted the Foundation’s key role in conducting research, convening key stakeholders, and translating insights into action to transform the care economy globally.

The forum elevated the Foundation’s and our partners’ work and helped identify where additional resources are needed to advance women in the economy in APEC countries. Key insights that emerged from the discussions specific to the care economy included the need to turn care policy insights into action for improved care policy and care delivery and where support is needed for regional and national strategic dialogues and multi-stakeholder partnership models to share information and advocate for increased investments in the care economy to catalyze innovation and collaboration for action.

Silva, associate director for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, moderated a session co-hosted by the Foundation and USAID on Innovations in Care to Unlock Opportunity for Women in the Economy. The session featured U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Dr. Geeta Rao Gupta, Chidi King, chief of the Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Branch, International Labour Organization, Managing Director of Program Strategy, Investment, and Communication at Pivotal Ventures Haven Ley, Founder, CEO, and CTO of LoveCare Susan Nio, and Payal Pathak, program officer for the Visa Foundation.

Panda, senior program officer for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, spoke at the Addressing Unpaid Care and Care Workers panel co-hosted by C&M International and the U.S. Department of Labor. Panda shared the Foundation’s leading role on the care economy in Asia and the Pacific, including progress toward developing a Global Roadmap for Action, which emerged as an upcoming priority from the recent Women Deliver preconference on the care economy in Kigali, Rwanda, last month.

Other issues on the agenda at the APEC Women and the Economy Forum included closing the digital gender divide, advancing women’s leadership in the gender-climate nexus, and ensuring equity and equality in global value chains. APEC 2023 will culminate in a summit in San Francisco later this year with the political leaders of APEC member economies.