The International Labour Organization (ILO) has underscored the vital role of cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy (SSE) in transforming care work across Latin America and the Caribbean, helping to close persistent gender gaps and ensure decent working conditions.
In a new technical note released on October 29, titled “Caring from the Territory: Experiences of Cooperatives and SSE Entities in Latin America”, the ILO presents community-based experiences from Bolivia, Colombia, and Honduras that demonstrate how cooperative models can respond effectively to the region’s growing care crisis.
The report coincides with the International Day of Care and Support and highlights the pressing challenge of unpaid care work, most of which is shouldered by women. In the region, women perform nearly three times more unpaid domestic and care work than men, limiting their participation in formal employment and access to social protection.
The ILO notes that the combined effects of an ageing population, limited public services, and geographic inequalities have intensified the demand for care. Many communities have turned to informal local solutions, yet most caregivers, often women in vulnerable circumstances, work without contracts or social security.
The ILO identifies cooperatives and SSE entities as powerful, inclusive mechanisms to address this imbalance. Unlike conventional business models, cooperatives emphasize community participation, democratic decision-making, and collective ownership. They deliver quality, affordable services while prioritizing people’s well-being over profit.
The report stresses that cooperative care models not only improve working conditions but also advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment by promoting shared responsibility for caregiving and creating formal jobs with fair wages and social protection.
ILO Senior Gender and Non-Discrimination Specialist Paz Arancibia emphasized that cooperatives “do not only provide care services, they also protect rights,” framing them as essential tools for reducing inequality and strengthening social justice.
The ILO’s Care.Coop methodology supports this transformation by working at three levels: strengthening local cooperatives and community organizations, building institutional alliances for supportive care ecosystems, and integrating these approaches into national care systems.
To assist communities, the ILO has introduced two complementary tools , Think.CareCoop, which assesses local capacities and service needs, and Start.CareCoop, which guides communities in establishing and formalizing care cooperatives through participatory and gender-responsive planning.
Pilot projects in three countries demonstrate the approach in action. In Bolivia, a digital map of care services in El Alto improved access for families while supporting indigenous community initiatives. In Colombia, community groups in Chocó and Cesar established the first midwifery and ancestral care houses through training and technical assistance. In Honduras, a municipal care model and the country’s first cooperative of domestic and care workers were launched, coupled with training and certification programs.
The ILO’s analysis reaffirms that care work, whether paid or unpaid, is fundamental labour that sustains societies and economies. The 2024 International Labour Conference officially recognized care work as a central component of the care economy and called for integrated policies that distribute responsibilities among the State, market, families, and communities.
The ILO concludes that incorporating cooperatives and SSE entities into national care policies is both an innovative and essential step toward achieving gender equality, social protection, and inclusive development across Latin America and the Caribbean.
