CO-The dev't of WECARE advocacy strategy WE-Care aims to increase the recognition of UCDW in public policy; reduce heavy and time-consuming UCDW through investments in essential public services and infrastructure; redistribute the responsibility for UCDW more equally between men and women and between households and the state; and ensure that women with care responsibilities are represented in the planning and implementation of budgets and policies that affect their lives. The program works towards a just and inclusive society by recognizing, reducing, redistributing, representing, and rewarding unpaid care and domestic work (UCDW). It envisions a world where women and girls have more choice at every stage of their lives and that the work they do is valued. The program has previously been implemented in the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya.

Launching in September 2023, WE-Care phase 5 will have a strong focus on African women and girls gaining greater autonomy over their lives and time. Enhanced recognition, reduction, redistribution, reward, and representation of their unpaid and paid care and domestic work will increase their ability to live their lives to the fullest and enjoy better social, economic, political, and cultural rights. Whilst the new phase expands to also include underpaid care and domestic work and we have opted to use the acronym UUCDW to describe Unpaid and Underpaid Care and Domestic Work, some activities may focus only on UCDW and others on underpaid care and domestic work.

The program will be implemented in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya with stronglinkages to regional and global spaces and opportunities for influencing UUCDW.


2. For renewal proposals only: Describe the successes and challenges of the most recent grant period. What lessons have you learned that you will incorporate into this next grant period? What will be similar or different?

The previous grant experienced some key successes, despite implementing the program in a contextually challenging period. Key successes include:

• Development of a robust research and evidence base on UUCDW through the development and use of tools such as the Care Policy Score Card, Rapid Care Analysis, Household Care Survey, Time Use survey, and research to understand how narratives on UUCDW can be shifted, which has provided a framework for implementing organizations to build awareness and advocate for UUCDW policies and progressive practices. Key research pieces that contributed to the shifting of care narratives include a policy brief published by Oxfam in Kenya titled ‘Addressing UCDW for a Gender-Equal and Inclusive Kenya’, a research piece titled ‘Addressing UCDW as a Key Barrier to Gender Equality in Ethiopia’ published by Ethiopia partner organization the Network of Ethiopian Women’s Association (NEWA), and an article titled ‘UCDW: The Cost of Doing Nothing’ on the Business Connect Newspaper published by Zimbabwe partner organization the Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCoZ). OGB’s Valuing Women’s Work research pillar also commissioned care narrative framing research, while the global team produced a research learning guide addressing social norms around UCDW.
• The project countries and region were able to influence significant policies and policy processes, including incorporating care into regional, country, and local development plans and policies. For instance, national Time Use Surveys (TUS) were conducted in Kenya and Uganda. The Kenyan government has launched a process to develop a UCDW policy based on evidence gathered through the TUS and has influenced the National Treasury to track the contribution of UCDW to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP), thereby facilitating government investments on UCDW; and, at the regional level, the Africa Union started engaging on a care policy framework that would increase the capacity of government officials and legislators on UUCDW with an emphasis on improving national budget allocations toward care-related sectors (for instance, in Zimbabwe).
• Community members—particularly women—increased their capacity to conduct advocacy and influence policies at the sub-national level. This resulted in women’s participation in governance processes that facilitated movement towards investment and prioritization of key sectors and infrastructure that impact the care ecosystem, such as water, heath, education, and childcare centers. Women champions also actively participated in public planning and budgeting forums to influence budgeting processes.
• To shift narratives, mindsets, and attitudes, use of mainstream and social media was critical. The program engaged media personalities and ran social media campaigns, especially during key moments such as 16 Days of Activism, International Women’s Day, International Day for African Women, International Rural Women’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Furthermore, Oxfam and partners began working with formal and informal leaders and created safe spaces for men to talk about care. In this period, 7,987,641 people were reached through the campaigns.