This month, a significant milestone was achieved in the gender justice space within ASEAN, the intergovernmental body. It’s a victory of sorts for our team, who has been working closely with this regional bloc to advance gender equality.

At the the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summit, held from October 6-11 in Lao PDR, the “ASEAN Declaration on Strengthening the Care Economy and Fostering Resilience Towards the Post-2025 ASEAN Community” was officially adopted.

In the Chairman’s statement at the summit, Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of Lao PDR, emphasized the importance of this declaration;

“We adopted the ASEAN Declaration on Strengthening the Care Economy and Fostering Resilience Towards Post-2025 ASEAN Community, which underscores the need for continuing efforts to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work through policies and programmes on care-related social protection, care services, care infrastructure, and employment related care policies, among others. We looked forward to the further development and finalization of the Guidance Note on Strengthening the Care Economy and Fostering Resilience towards the post-2025 ASEAN Community being developed by the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) through the leadership of Lao PDR.”

“We adopted the ASEAN Declaration on Strengthening the Care Economy and Fostering Resilience Towards Post-2025 ASEAN Community, which underscores the need for continuing efforts to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work through policies and programmes on care-related social protection, care services, care infrastructure, and employment related care policies, among others. We looked forward to the further development and finalization of the Guidance Note on Strengthening the Care Economy and Fostering Resilience towards the post-2025 ASEAN Community being developed by the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) through the leadership of Lao PDR.”

Sonexay Siphandone
Prime Minister of Lao PDR

The adoption of this declaration signals the collective commitment of all 10 ASEAN member states to address the burden of unpaid care and domestic work across the region. As the highest decision-making body in ASEAN, their endorsement is a promising sign for the future of gender equity in Southeast Asia.

Oxfam through its convening, facilitation and advocacy has been pushing for the visibility of care in policy spaces. Understanding that systemic change takes time and sustained political commitment, we’ve followed the "ASEAN way"—building relationships and nurturing partnerships with member states like Laos, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Alongside UNESCAP, the ASEAN Committee on Women, the ASEAN Secretariat, and regional and national women workers’ groups, we’ve worked collectively to advance this agenda. It’s encouraging to now see these efforts reflected in such meaningful commitments by ASEAN leaders.

 

Why is this Declaration exciting?

The region is still grappling with the aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic. When life as we knew it came to a halt, we saw how economies and societies rested on the shoulders of the majority—women and girls—who provide care. As Asia witnesses a demographic shift with more children, older people, and persons with disabilities requiring care, this declaration is timely. It holds the potential to be transformative for unpaid care workers and underpaid domestic workers across the region.

The Chairman’s statement acknowledges that addressing unpaid care and domestic work is a priority for ASEAN over the next five years (2026-2030). All 10 ASEAN member states now formally recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work as foundational pillars of human life, societal well-being, and economic growth. This recognition demonstrates that ASEAN leaders see care work not just as a barrier to women’s economic participation but as essential to human development and economic progress.

The statement references the declaration, which recognizes that most paid care workers are women, including migrant workers, toiling in the informal economy under poor conditions and often lack sufficient and accessible legal and social protections to ensure their safety and dignity. It also highlights the commitment of ASEAN member states to continue creating spaces for the inclusion of the voices and valuable perspectives of caregivers and care recipients in all relevant processes.

 

Key commitments in the Declaration

The declaration makes several critical commitments:

  • Prioritize research and data: Research and data on the care economy and care work distribution will drive evidence-informed policymaking, planning, and strategy formulation. This includes exploring the valuation of care work in national accounts and development plans.

 

  • Investing in Care services: The declarations calls for investment in accessible, affordable and of quality services, including childcare, respite care, long-term care, psychosocial support, mental health, care for vulnerable groups.

 

  • Strengthening Care infrastructure: Care infrastructure includes access to water, sanitation, safe transport, utilities, housing, safe accommodations/shelters, and time saving devices, as well as physical care facilities such as schools, hospitals, health clinics, nursing and care homes for communities. 

 

  • Care-related social protection: Investing in social assistance programs (e.g cash transfers, old age pensions, cash-for-care), social welfare schemes (e.g public works programs, subsidies, and school meals for children), social insurance programs (e.g universal health coverage, pension systems and disability or sickness allowances). 

    It is encouraging to see that there is a particular focus on portability of social security benefits for migrant workers, and enhancing access to justice for care workers, including migrant workers and domestic workers, by establishing mechanisms that address their specific legal needs and protect their rights

     

  • Employment related care policies: Promoting policies fair wages, social insurance, maternity and parental leave, mental wellbeing and health leave, and other supportive workplace policies (e.g career breaks) might turn out to be transformative for 22 million migrant domestic workers in the ASEAN region.  [1]

 

Get words into action

This collective agenda to promote gender justice within ASEAN is indeed a beacon of hope for the future of care workers across the region. However, there is still much work to be done. 

Moving forward, we need to ensure: 

  • The passage and endorsement of national action plans on care that go beyond gender ministries and adopt a whole-of-government approach.
  • Increased avenues for women’s groups and associations to participate in decision-making on care-responsive investments.
  • Substantial care-responsive investments across the region.
  • Enhanced evidence-sharing platforms to exchange knowledge on what works in the region.

This declaration lays a promising foundation, but only through continued collective action can we achieve a truly gender-just future for the region.
 

[1] https://thediplomat.com/2023/06/a-third-of-domestic-workers-in-malaysia-face-forced-labor-conditions-un-says/#:~:text=Domestic%20workers%20form%20a%20crucial,the%20region's%20total%20migrant%20laborers.