For many women in Mali, time is a scarce resource. Between household chores, meal preparation, food processing, and caring for children, older people, or sick family members, a large part of each day is devoted to essential but unpaid work. These are hours that cannot be spent on education, income-generating activities, or participation in public life.

In Sicoro-Sourakabougou, a community in the District of Bamako, this reality is beginning to change. Thanks to solar-powered millet mills, women spend less time processing cereals, one of the most demanding tasks in their daily lives. Combined with training in cooperative management, food processing, and equipment maintenance, these investments are enabling women to expand their economic activities, strengthen their autonomy, and participate more actively in community life, particularly through the community health centre.

“I used to process food products and nothing more. Through this training, I learned and understood how to sell my products profitably. Now, I can set my own prices and pay my employees. I would like every woman to be able to earn an income from her own work. My goal is to train many more women in food processing, good hygiene practices, and achieving food self-sufficiency,” said Ms. Galédou Ina Kéïta, a training beneficiary and restaurant owner in Koulouba, a neighborhood of Bamako.

This change reflects a broader national reality. According to Mali’s National Observatory for the Demographic Dividend (ONDD), unpaid domestic and care work was valued at CFAF 3.78 trillion in 2022, equivalent to 23.9 percent of the country’s GDP. Women perform the vast majority of this work, with their contribution estimated at CFAF 3.09 trillion, compared with 5.5 percent of GDP for men. Women spend nearly four times more time than men on unpaid domestic and care work. In Bamako, women devote an average of 4.92 hours per day to these responsibilities, compared with just 0.69 hours for men.

For a long time, care work was considered a private responsibility. Today, it is increasingly recognized as a driver of sustainable development. When it falls almost exclusively on women, it limits their economic empowerment and deepens inequalities. The impacts of climate change further increase this burden, while investments in care infrastructure, services, and policies can simultaneously improve household well-being, promote women's economic inclusion, and strengthen community resilience.

To address this challenge, UN Women works with local governments, technical services, civil society organizations, and community leaders to integrate care work into local planning and budgeting processes. A pilot initiative has already helped strengthen the integration of sustainable care solutions and climate action into the Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan of Commune VI in Bamako. According to Hamadou Yalcouyé, Director General of the Regional Development Agency (ADR) of Bamako, “Making unpaid domestic and care work a priority in local policies and budgets means investing directly in gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, and the resilience of local communities.”At the heart of this approach is the 3R framework: Recognize, Reduce and Redistribute unpaid domestic and care work. By making care work a public policy priority, local authorities have a concrete tool to advance gender equality, accelerate women’s economic empowerment, and build more resilient communities.

This momentum is aligned with reforms underway at the national level. In 2024, Mali adopted a roadmap on unpaid care and domestic work and established a committee to oversee its implementation. UN Women is also supporting the Government in strengthening the integration of gender considerations into climate policies, including through the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0).

In Sicoro-Sourakabougou, the hours saved represent far more than time gained. They create greater opportunities for women to engage in economic activities, participate in community life, and build a future where care work is recognized as a driver of gender equality, local development, and climate action.