Is global gender equality achievable without better childcare?
The first ever monthly The Backlash Q&A with Jane Sloane, Senior Director, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality at the Asia Foundation.
It’s been one of those nightmare weeks. My youngest daughter had a stomach bug and we barely slept. Thanks to my hybrid working life, much of my time was spent at home with my ill daughter, holding her in one hand, typing emails and going on Teams calls with the other. And I’m one of the lucky ones. My partner looks after our youngest full time, as he did for a stretch with our eldest daughter. This has meant that I have been able to work — even though on weeks like this, when she is ill and we are all knocking around our small flat, it is hard to separate the “me working at home” from the “them at home together”.
Still, without my partner doing the majority of the childcare, my professional life would definitely be on hold. As has been widely reported, parents in this country are squeezed by extortionate childcare, and the number of women leaving the workforce to look after family has increased for the first time in decades. With a general election on the horizon, you can see how childcare is becoming an increasingly political issue here. And yet, British politicians have yet to take it sufficiently seriously. Recently, in fact, the UK government announced plans for a letter-writing campaign (yes, really) to “woo” mothers back to work.
On the World Economic Forum’s latest projections, it will take another 132 years to reach gender parity worldwide. Childcare very clearly enables women to participate in the economy, and that economic participation is essential to gender equality. As such, I began to wonder: how much of a focus is there in development economics on childcare — and can we achieve global gender equality without it?
And so, for the first ever monthly Q&A on The Backlash, I asked Jane Sloane, Senior Director, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality at the Asia Foundation, a US NGO, for her thoughts on this. Jane has been working in global development and women’s rights for decades. The interview, conducted via email, has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
The Backlash: Is it silly to ask how key childcare is to achieving gender parity and empowerment for women? And also, is it silly to ask how important it is for economic growth?
Jane Sloane: It’s an essential question. Adequately funded and accessible access to childcare is a game-changer for gender parity and women’s empowerment. The conditions for economic growth include political and economic stability, the quality of infrastructure, and a population possessing the mix and level of skills needed. Currently, the expectation is that women assume the unpaid responsibility of caring for children, people with disabilities, and the elderly without given them a choice. This dramatically curtails workforce productivity and women’s agency, autonomy, decision-making and leadership.
In developing countries particularly, the consequences of the surge in women undertaking unpaid care work due to the Covid-19 pandemic have been significant. This includes women being forced to leave the paid workforce, an increase in poor physical and mental health outcomes, and worsening educational outcomes for
girls leaving school, with many not returning due to caregiving responsibilities, early marriage, and pregnancy. Female education is positively correlated with good health and economic outcomes. Women undertaking unpaid care work also experience decreased agency, autonomy, and control. They are also at greater risk of gender-based violence by being trapped with perpetrators and having lack of access to information, services, and mobility.
TB: How much is provision of childcare a political priority in the countries you work in?
JS: Paid care in the formal sector is becoming more of a priority, however the levels of investment have varied. High-income countries like Australia, Japan and South Korea have specific childcare-related legislation, whereas middle-income countries like Malaysia and Nepal are in the early stages of politically prioritising care. Others like Mongolia and Thailand are still in nascent stages. We document this momentum in the white paper we’ve just released. Paid care, including childcare, is one of the fastest-growing sectors and represents a substantial source of employment. Addressing existing gaps in care services could generate almost 300 million jobs. Care policy became more of a priority post-Covid due to a massive decline in female labour force participation. What is urgently needed from governments is investment in robust data, innovative pilot interventions and demonstration projects. There also needs to be a commitment to nationally coordinated approaches to childcare policies and service delivery. Informal paid care also still requires much more political attention.
TB: How underinvested is the childcare sector globally?
JS: More than 40 percent of all children below primary-school age — or nearly 350 million — need childcare but do not have access, according to a recent World Bank report. As a result, too many children spend time in environments that lack stimulation and creativity and are often unsafe. In addition to the lack of access, data shows that existing childcare facilities are often under-funded and childcare workers are underpaid and have fewer benefits relative to other formal sector workers.
The Covid-19 pandemic has further exposed the inadequacies in childcare provision and the sector's vulnerability worldwide. This report, Better Jobs and Brighter Futures: Investing in Childcare to Build Human Capital, highlights how investments in childcare can increase women’s employment and productivity, generate new jobs, improve child health outcomes, drive economic growth, and support inclusive recovery from the pandemic. Governments can support more investment in paid childcare options by contributing to the World Bank’s new Invest in Childcare Initiative.
TB: How much of a priority is childcare and early years education in global development agendas?
JS: Not enough. This political prioritisation of childcare is crucial for the policy changes, investment, social protection, and scaling required to give families choice and support in caring for children. Failure to do this results in a severe economic cost to countries due to the level of healthcare needed for underdeveloped children, as much as it being a denial of children’s rights. These interventions to support early childhood development are also crucial to achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
An example of the potential of an integrated approach is the services provided by the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), which represents more than 2.1 million women workers in the informal economy across 16 states in India. In 1986, SEWA launched the Sangini Child Care Workers' Cooperative, and today the cooperative runs 11 childcare centers for 350-400 children aged 0 - 6 years of age. SEWA charges members a small fee of Rs. 300 (£3.10) to enroll their children each month. Each child is given access to basic education and social skills, adequate nutrition, and healthcare. The cooperative recruits childcare workers directly from the community, offering women from low-income backgrounds critical employment opportunities. SEWA has proved the economic and social benefit of such an approach.
TB: Which countries are getting childcare and early years right?
JS: There are many examples in Nordic countries. In Denmark, most two-year-olds attend childcare during the day, where they are guaranteed a spot, and their parents pay no more than 25 percent of the cost. Parents are guaranteed this spot until their children are in after-school care at the age of 10. Recognising the importance of choice, if parents choose to stay home or hire a nanny, they receive support from the government to pay this cost. In France, tax credits of up to 85 percent are provided to parents who send their children to creches or home-based childminders before they commence public preschool. In Germany, the amount parents pay for childcare, known as “kita,” varies from free to a portion of their income. In Europe, research shows that provision of childcare has had a more significant effect on women’s labour force participation than policies like paid parental leave.
There are also promising signs in some Asian countries. For example, in its 15th Five-Year Plan (2020-2024), the Government of Nepal declared a commitment to “Valuing women’s household labor and family care activities for counting its contribution to the National Income.” To achieve this, and in collaboration with the UN Women – ILO Joint Programme, the government established an inter-ministerial National Steering Committee on Decent Employment and Care Economy. This committee focuses on promoting inclusive growth policies and investments in the care economy.
Beyond what government policies and programs make possible, several market-driven mobile platforms have emerged across Asia and the Pacific to facilitate care work. For example, LoveCare in Indonesia enables families to book childcare services and other care and medical providers. In East Africa, Kidogo’s “mamapreneurs” operate childcare centers out of their homes. These 125 micro childcare centers cost parents less than $1 per day to provide affordable access to quality childcare. Through the Kidogo programme, mamapreneurs learn skills to improve both the quality of care offered and management of their small businesses.
TB: You have been working and involved in activism on gender equality for years. How do you think the backlash against women's rights is playing out right now?
JS: With the interlocking and gendered impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and conflict over the last few years, the rights of women and other marginalised groups have come under sustained attack. This includes Covid-19 giving cover to authoritarian states and leaders to further crackdown on women’s rights and public spaces for women’s organising. The impact of such actions has profoundly exacerbated gender inequalities and resulted in the regression of hard-won gender equality gains. The world has seen a devastating increase in gender-based violence, in girls dropping out of school, the persistent loss of women's livelihoods, particularly in the informal sector, where women comprise a disproportionate percentage of workers, and a dramatic surge in women's unpaid care responsibilities. The return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan portends devastating consequences for women and girls.
The World Economic Forum estimates that it will take 168 years for East Asia and the Pacific to fully close its gender gaps and 197 years for South Asia (the last region to achieve gender parity at current projections). Despite this, women’s bravery and literal courage under fire are evident in many settings whether taking to the streets in Afghanistan and Iran, mobilising in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, or sustaining movements for justice in Indonesia, India, Fiji, and the Philippines. For this reason, it’s crucial to get more core funding to grassroots feminist networks and movements to support them to hold ground — and not lose ground — when so much is at stake.