OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will spend $100 million over the next five years on global projects to address the unequal burden women bear caring for others.

Trudeau is making the announcement by video, at the Generation Equality Forum, being held virtually and in person this week in Paris.

The forum is looking to reverse the impact COVID-19 has had on women and girls, and seeking solutions that restore and exceed the gender equality gains lost to the pandemic.

International Development Minister Karina Gould says the pandemic put a particular spotlight on the critical role women play caring for others, from paid jobs in health care and education to unpaid work looking after their families.

She says at home the government is investing $30 billion over the next five years to create a national child care program with better access and lower fees.

Internationally she says Canada is calling for proposals on how to spend $100 million over the next five years on projects that help women who are providing both paid and unpaid care work in developing countries.