Listening to women’s voices: Empowering women through provision of quality childcare services and strengthening their capacity for paid labor engagement

• In Event: Early Childhood Care and Development in East African Communities

Proposal

Background: Because of prevailing social norms, the responsibility of childcare falls disproportionately on women, particularly those who are poor and vulnerable – and they are faced with the “double burden” of caring for and providing for their families (Samman et al., 2016). Care responsibilities reduce possibilities for female education and inhibit labor force participation, affect the types of jobs women do, how productive they are and how much they earn. In some settings, women are more likely to opt for part-time work, and in others to seek informal sector employment that may be more conducive to caring responsibilities. The gender gap in labor participation continues to widen because women are held back from advancing in other areas of their lives by the time-consuming and resource-intensive nature of childcare. In resource-limited settings, the quality and cost of paid childcare services also influence women’s decisions to take their children to childcare and engage in employment or stay at home and look after them (Clark et al., 2018). Interventions that directly provide alternative childcare options and give women greater freedom of choice and action enable them to meaningfully contribute to economic production processes (Doughman et al., 2017). Whereas women are central to the care of young children, their voices regarding issues pertaining to their economic empowerment, and the quality of childcare provisioning remain largely unheard. This paper focuses on the voices of female beneficiaries of a childcare quality improvement program. We sought to explore the following questions: 1) How do women in disadvantaged urban settings balance the needs of childcare provisioning and income-earning activities? 2) What is their perceived sense of self-efficacy? 3) What anticipated outcomes do women foresee regarding the perceived benefits of the intervention? 4) What suggestions for improvement did they have?

Theoretical framework: Our work is framed within Eagly's (1987) social role theory which argues that because of the widely shared gender stereotypes that result in gendered division of labor, there is a disproportionate assignment of nurturant roles to women. In addition, these stereotypes shape behavior directly through the expectations members form, for instance, that women are to be ‘seen and not to be heard.’ However, contemporary narratives where women are no longer able to play the ‘traditionally-assigned’ roles may challenge the tenets of the theory. For instance, more women currently participate in paid labor and have become part of the productive workforce; there is a rise in the proportion of single-parent and female-headed households; and, educational attainment among females has increased.

Methods and analysis: The paper is based on baseline data from a quasi-experimental study that sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a childcare model that aimed at empowering women economically through the provision of quality childcare services. The principal beneficiaries were primary caregivers with children aged below three years who were purposively selected to be part of the study. Childcare providers were secondary beneficiaries. Using surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions, the study documented women’s expectations of the childcare quality improvement program. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively. Thematic analysis was used to systematically analyze all qualitative data through five stages: familiarization, defining themes, coding, charting and interpretation.

Results: The study was carried out among 523 women in an urban informal settlement in Kenya. Their mean age was 28 years, about 40% were self-employed, one-third had completed secondary education and two-thirds were in a union. Although they had meager earnings, women generated additional income at the household level through participation in income-generating activities. They had control over a portion of the household income which they mainly used to improve children’s health and well-being. Primary caregivers reported that they went back to work when their children were aged three months. Participants endeavored to complete household chores before taking their children to the childcare facilities and going to work. However, they found combining childcare and work quite challenging. Women’s sense of perceived self-efficacy rated through statements such as ‘If I had the chance, I would make a good leader’ and ‘I do not care what others think about my success or failure' was high.

One of the anticipated outcomes was that the childcare quality improvement program would create more resources for women and help them to provide nurturing care to their children in a holistic manner. They also expected that they would receive training on how to improve their parenting practices and manage their conflicting work schedules to enable them to balance work and care responsibilities more effectively.

Participants supported the establishment of breastfeeding stations at work. Mothers mentioned that provisions for them to bring their children to their workplaces would make it easier for them to care for their children and ease the financial burden of childcare costs. Mothers noted the importance of flexible schedules that would enable them to combine paid work and care responsibilities. Care providers made suggestions for better government support to women through: the extension of labor market policies like parental leave to cover women who work in the informal sector; investment in financial aid programs to ease the burden of childcare costs; provision of specific services such as secluded breastfeeding and childcare areas for market women; and, encouragement of fathers to take more responsibility for childcare. Participants also suggested the need to sensitize private companies on the need to support and expand the provision of childcare services.

Discussion: The study provides insights into the voices of female participants in a program that sought to improve the quality of childcare provision. The women recognized the gaps in policy implementation and social protection programming, two areas that would go a long way in transforming the childcare sector. Our study highlights the importance of recognizing and amplifying the voices of poor, marginalized, and vulnerable populations (in this case, poor women living in informal settlement settings), particularly in decisions around the types of programming that should be considered to alleviate the burden of issues such as childcare service provision.

Authors

• Patricia K Kitsao-Wekulo, African Population and Health Research Center

• Margaret Nampijja, African Population and Health Reserach Center, Nairobi

• Ruth Muendo, Food for Education