The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the fragile state of global care systems and highlighted the vital — yet unpaid — roles predominantly assumed by women. During the pandemic, women took on 29% more childcare than men and faced higher job losses due to care duties. COVID-19 also highlighted the need to view care as a public good, transitioning from a private, cost-centric, and gender-biased perspective to a public and investment-focused one. Governments, civil society, and business leaders now recognize the need to address paid and unpaid care roles to further gender equality, social and economic justice, and other Sustainable Development Goals, including those relating to poverty, education, health, work, inequality, and sustainable urban environments. Against this backdrop, the National Institute of Women of Mexico and UN Women launched the Global Alliance for Care at the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico City, in March 2021.
