Conference on care economy, Tbilisi, Georgia

The ITUC equality department together with the Pan-European Regional Council (PERC), organized a two-days conference in Tbilisi on women’s labour issues and social policies supported by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) on 31st of May - 1st of June

Main topics of the event were: care economy, women’s rights, personal and professional development and compatibility of work life and house responsibilities.
The Conference was hosted by the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC).
The participants of the conference were addressed by President of the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation (GTUC) Irakli Petriashvili, representatives of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Pan-European Regional Council (PERC), who presented reports on the situation of women engaged in care economy. The seminar participants were also welcomed by South Caucasus Regional Director of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Julia Blaesius.
Problems and prospects of women employed in the care economy were discussed in details. The sector encompasses various occupations such as domestic workers, careers for people with disabilities and elderly, nannies, and women employed informally in similar areas.
The meeting was organized in the framework of the ITUC "Count Us In!" campaign. The goal of the campaign is to promote participation of women in trade unions, in particular, to increase the number of female members of the organization in the decision-making positions and processes, providing women with better access to social services and decent work conditions.
The campaign aims at development of the economic agenda for women at the national level, formation of new policy regarding of job-creation in the area, which means decent work conditions in addition to support, such as child and elderly care programs, more family-friendly work places.