海角大神

Gloria Gonz谩lez has been caring for others since she was a child. From the age of 7, she was expected to tend to her little brother and make charcoal to sell.

Like many women in Colombia, Ms. Gonz谩lez has frequently struggled to balance the burden of unpaid care duties with the need to work a job to pay the bills.

But two years ago Ms. Gonz谩lez, who now cares for her grandchildren,聽came across a newly renovated building in Engativ谩, her low-income neighborhood in Bogot谩. Inside, the bustling Manzana del Cuidado, or Care Block, changed the course of her life, after dedicating decades tending to others at the expense of her own professional experience and schooling.

鈥淭his place reminded me I wasn鈥檛 alone,鈥� says Ms. Gonz谩lez, beaming from a bench in a flower-filled garden in the multibuilding complex.

In 2020, Bogot谩鈥檚 municipal government opened its first-ever Care Block in an attempt to recognize the vital, often unpaid work of caregivers like Ms. Gonz谩lez. Each of the city鈥檚 23 Care Blocks offers a dizzying range of free services specifically for caregivers, the vast majority of whom are women.

The idea is to recognize and lighten their load, and potentially break down gender stereotypes around who can 鈥� or should 鈥� provide caregiving. There are on-site laundromats, offices with legal aid and psychological support, sexual health clinics, yoga and dance sessions, and classrooms for study, as well as day care to watch children or relatives while their caregivers use the facilities.聽

After just four years, already there are plans to expand the blocks, not only within Bogot谩, but also in other Latin American countries.

鈥淭hese women are the heartbeat of society,鈥� says Diana Rodr铆guez, Bogot谩鈥檚 former women鈥檚 affairs secretary, who helped develop the initiative. 鈥淲e rely on them to raise us, to feed us, to clean up after us. That鈥檚 why we have to support them.鈥�

Women shouldering unpaid labor

More than 30% of Bogot谩鈥檚 female population 鈥� 1.2 million women 鈥� provides care full time without being paid, according to City Hall. Their work has the estimated value of the equivalent of 13% of the capital鈥檚 gross domestic product.聽

It鈥檚 a similar picture worldwide. There are 647 million full-time unpaid caregivers globally, and nearly 95% of them are women, according to a 2018 report by the International Labor Organization. Women and girls provide 12.5 billion hours of care every day, Oxfam estimates, an output that if valued at minimum wage would be worth $10.8 trillion a year 鈥� over double that of the global tech industry. Analysis of data for 89 countries last year by UN Women found that women spend 2.8 more hours than men on unpaid care and domestic work every day.

Bogot谩鈥檚 Care Blocks 鈥� which were created by former Mayor Claudia L贸pez, the city鈥檚 first female mayor 鈥� have been hailed as a groundbreaking effort to address that gendered care gap.

The services are clustered under one roof, and the centers are distributed evenly across the city. That means caregivers here can maximize their limited time instead of having to walk long distances, get stuck in traffic, or make multiple stops for different activities and services.

The Care Blocks are 鈥渁 pioneering project in the region,鈥� says Ana G眉ezmes, director of the gender affairs division of the聽Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean聽(ECLAC), because they 鈥渁ddress structural challenges that limit gender equality and women鈥檚 autonomy.鈥�

Broadly, the program鈥檚 three main goals are to raise recognition of the importance of caregiving among the general public and caregivers themselves, to reduce the overall care burden, and to encourage redistributing caregiving duties from women to men.

Feeling free 鈥� and valued

The city spends $800,000 annually on the project, and the new mayor, Carlos Fernando Gal谩n, has pledged to continue the work. That includes plans to nearly double the number of Care Blocks to 45 locations by 2035.

Meanwhile, ECLAC is working with federal governments in Chile, Colombia, and Brazil, and with municipalities in Mexico, to design 鈥渃omprehensive care systems鈥� inspired by Bogot谩鈥檚 Care Blocks.聽

鈥淭he creation of concentrated service areas are relevant for any urban context,鈥� says Ms. G眉ezmes of ECLAC.

But there is still plenty of work to be done.

A 2023 study by the University of the Andes in Bogot谩 found that Care Block users often gained 鈥渁 new meaning to care and their role as caregivers鈥� and that the employment support had helped some women, though not many, find paid work.

The greatest challenge, however, has been getting men to take up care work, according to the researchers.

鈥淲hen we spoke to the caregivers, we noticed there was a change in [that] they saw their work as valuable,鈥� says Natalia Ram铆rez Bustamante, co-author of the report. But redistributing the 鈥渨ork is much more difficult. It depends on the will of the husbands.鈥�

The researchers also found challenges to accessibility for people with severe disabilities, and that some caregivers still have to travel great distances to reach the nearest Care Block.

And yet, the services have proved popular. Between January and March 2024, more than 45,000 women tapped into the centers鈥� resources, according to Bogot谩鈥檚 City Hall. That includes 2,648 caregivers receiving employment training; 743 earning diplomas for information technology literacy and English, among other skills; and 1,822 using the free, on-site washing machines.聽

Ms. Gonz谩lez regularly does yoga, Pilates, and salsa classes, and uses the laundromat, and she took an entrepreneurial course to help her find work. As of last year, she runs a small shop selling fragrant herbs and essential oils, inspired by her grandmother.

鈥淚 have worked all kinds of jobs during my life,鈥� says Ms. Gonz谩lez. 鈥淏ut now I feel free; I feel valued. And I have a support network. It鈥檚 totally different.鈥�

Solange Martinez visits the Engativ谩 Care Block for English classes while her 18-month-old baby is looked after in the on-site day care. Before discovering this space, 鈥淚 could barely leave the house,鈥� says the young mother.

鈥淓very day new women arrive to sign up,鈥� says Jenny Paola Molina, coordinator of the Care Block in Engativ谩. Some centers have proved so popular that women must rotate in and out of the system once every three months so that everyone gets a turn. 鈥淪ometimes we have to turn them away,鈥� she says.

On a recent sunny morning in Engativ谩, a salsa class is kicking off, with music blasting from the sound system. Ms. Gonz谩lez is in the mix, moving to the rhythm among dozens of dancers.

鈥淲e women,鈥� she says, 鈥渁re stronger together.鈥澛�