Bogotá, Colombia
“This is a recognition to all the caregivers of Bogota, who throughout history have supported life and development. Today, for the first time, they have a system that takes care of them and helps them improve their quality of life.” Mayor Claudia Lopez
Reducing women’s unpaid care work
Winner of the 2021 Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Mayors Challenge, Bogota developed a “Care Block” program designed to reduce women’s unpaid care work, spark cultural shifts that redistribute care more equitably across family units, and formally recognize the skills of family caregivers. In Bogotá, the unpaid care burden falls disproportionately on women, with 30% of the city’s female population providing full-time caregiving, 14% of whom cannot leave their homes due to the conditions of those for whom they care. The Care Block program provides in-home support to people in need of care in Bogotá, which in turn alleviates the often consuming burden of care that disproportionately falls on women.
Photo: Sebastián Orjuela
Sandra Johanna Daza is earning her high-school diploma through the city’s Care Block program. “I didn’t have a place to go to school before,” she says. “I had to take the bus, which didn’t allow me to either work or take care of my kids.”
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