Men need to play a more active role in caring for people living with HIV so that women have the chance to participate in public life, said UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro.

"We must address the significant responsibilities faced by women and girls during home-based care in the context of HIV and AIDS, and find ways to strengthen the role of men," she told the fifty-third session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York on 2 March.

Migiro noted that if men played a more active part in HIV care-giving and other domestic tasks, they would be able to have a greater role in the lives of their families.

"We must also develop innovative ways to eliminate gender stereotypes about the roles of women and men, beginning at an early age in homes, schools and communities, and engaging leaders in all walks of life," she added.

Measures to promote better shared responsibility should include closing the gap in pay, increasing flexibility in working arrangements, and instituting better leave provisions for both women and men.

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