During a side event at the 69th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), cooperatives were highlighted as an innovative way to empower communities and women, and transform care systems. Held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from March 10 to 21, CSW69 focused on reviewing and assessing the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, as well as the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly.
The side event was organized on March 11 by the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), the Government Offices of Sweden, and the organization We Effect, in collaboration with Cooperatives Europe and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).
The Key Role of Cooperatives in the Care Sector
Under the theme “Collectively Transforming Care Systems with a Multi-Sectoral Approach,” participants discussed how to recognize, reduce, redistribute, and reward care work. The discussion was guided by a 2025 UN policy paper on transforming care systems in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Xiomara Núñez de Céspedes, President of the ICA Gender Equality Committee, highlighted the transformative role of cooperatives, drawing from her experience with the Multi-Service Cooperative of Nursing Professionals (COOPROENF) in the Dominican Republic. She explained how cooperatives are making a difference by investing significantly in the care sector and cited examples of women-led cooperatives in India and Spain.
“We work with allies and governments to transform care systems, but we cannot wait for external changes; we must drive change from within, from within our cooperatives,” she said.
Towards Greater Equity in Care Work
Participants emphasized the need to reduce the unequal distribution of unpaid care work that falls disproportionately on women, implement regulations ensuring decent working conditions and fair wages for care workers, and guarantee effective participation and collective bargaining rights for caregivers.
They also stressed that governments should invest in cooperative care solutions to ensure that care work is recognized as a collective responsibility, contributing to the achievement of SDGs related to poverty reduction and women’s rights.
We Effect shared its experience in Latin American countries, outlined in its report “Not an Invisible Hand”, which highlights the role of the cooperative model in serving these communities. The report also underscores the importance of including local governance experiences from Indigenous, rural, and urban communities to improve public institutions’ accountability.
Collaboration and Growth Without Inequality
“Cooperatives are the ideal model for transforming care systems, and this International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) is the perfect time to make this visible,” said Damaris R. Ruiz from We Effect, one of the world’s largest cooperative development organizations.
Another key message from the event was the importance of fostering collaboration between cooperatives and other actors in the care sector.
“Inequality is not inevitable. Growth does not require inequality,” said Wenyan Yang, Chief of the UN Social Perspective on Development Branch.
Other speakers included Amber Parkes (UN Women), Gisela Strand (Swedish Development Cooperation Agency), and Jeanette Kindipan-Dulawan (Oxfam Philippines).
This international event is part of the International Year of Cooperatives 2025: https://2025.coop.
