Care, Capital, and Catalysts: Powering Women’s Economic Empowerment

The care economy—spanning childcare, eldercare, and other essential caregiving services—is a vital yet often overlooked pillar that supports women’s ability to work, lead, and thrive economically. Across Asia, unpaid and underpaid care responsibilities continue to limit women’s access to jobs, entrepreneurship, and leadership opportunities.

This session brings together funders, investors, and practitioners to explore how unlocking capital—alongside mentorship, networks, and systems of support—can drive inclusive economic participation for women. By positioning care not just as a social issue but as an economic infrastructure, we’ll discuss the kinds of financing, partnerships, and policy shifts needed to support women-led enterprises and build stronger ecosystems around them.

Key takeaways:

• Understand the economic case for investing in care services as a foundation for women’s financial independence and enterprise growth.
• Learn from scalable models of public-private and community-driven collaborations.
• Explore innovative and sustainable funding mechanisms to expand gender-inclusive solutions across sectors.
• Together, we’ll explore how care, capital, and catalytic support can transform women’s roles in the economy—from surviving to thriving.