July 2022 Childcare and Women’s Labor Market Outcomes in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries: EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC GENDER INNOVATION LAB A Policy Brief The East Asia and Pacific Gender Innovation Lab HIGHLIGHTS (EAPGIL) carries out impact evaluations and • Collective findings of 22 studies from low- and middle-income countries provide inferential research strong evidence that increasing access to childcare can improve maternal labor to generate evidence market outcomes. on what works in • Childcare hours that accommodate women’s work schedules and the location closing gender gaps of the childcare center are important features for maximizing mothers’ labor force in assets, economic participation. opportunities, and • Mothers who simultaneously work and childmind (as in rural settings and informal agency, and how self-employment) benefit from childcare in the form of improved productivity. closing these gaps • Provision of childcare may need to be complemented with other policy tools (e.g., can help achieve longer parental leave) to ensure attachment to labor market when children are very other development young. outcomes. Ultimately, • Lack of job opportunities or lack of skills that match available work opportunities may EAPGIL seeks to prevent women from utilizing available childcare services. increase the welfare of women and men in East Asia and the DOES INCREASING ACCESS TO CHILDCARE IMPROVE Pacific by promoting WOMEN’S LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES IN THE DEVELOPING the uptake of effective WORLD? policies and programs Twenty-two studies from lower- and middle-income countries rigorously tested if an increase identified based on in access to childcare improved mothers’ labor force participation or earnings1. All but one evidence. study found at least some positive impact on mothers’ labor force participation and related For the full review, please refer to: Halim, Perova, and Reynolds (2021), available on: https://documents.worldbank. 1  org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/450971635788989068/childcare-and-mothers-labor-market- outcomes-in-lower-and-middle-income-countries CAUSAL STUDIES ON CHILDCARE & MOTHER’S LABOR FORCE OUTCOMES From Lower and Middle-Income Countries China India Mexico Nicaragua Colombia Ecuador Kenya Brazil Indonesia Number of studies 0 1 Chile 2 Argentina 3 4 outcomes resulting from access to care, an increase in care work or welfare outcomes. In Vietnam, where over hours, or a reduction in the cost of care. The results of this review 90% of mothers worked [2], there was no increase in are encouraging; childcare can help improve female labor market employment, but public provision of childcare increased outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. mothers’ formal or wage-earning employment and reduced poverty. In Kenya, single mothers benefitted IN SETTINGS WHERE FEMALE LABOR from childcare by working fewer hours without any loss FORCE PARTICIPATION IS ALREADY HIGH, to their earnings [3]. CAN CHILDCARE IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY AND WELFARE OUTCOMES? WHAT ELEMENTS OF CHILDCARE Many impoverished women work to support the family while DESIGN MAXIMIZE MATERNAL simultaneously caring for children. Some agriculture work can PARTICIPATION IN THE LABOR be done with babies on the back or toddlers playing nearby. FORCE? Similarly, some informal sector labor such as food preparation and Care availability and consistency. Many government street vending can be done while childminding. The possibility programs have waitlists for childcare, indicating a large of multitasking in this type of work raises the question of the unmet demand. Local organization can be a solution to effectiveness of childcare in impacting mothers’ employment such scarcity: Colombian parent groups select a local outcomes. Evidence from Colombia [1] suggests that increasing mother and pay her a small monthly fee, which may be rural mothers’ access to childcare improves their labor market subsidized by the government. In rural areas in Colombia, outcomes beyond participation, increasing the number of hours there was not always enough local children to form a pod women work.. Mothers in rural environments value childcare even of sufficient size for the government subsidy [1]. This though agricultural labor is feasible simultaneously with taking uncertainty about supply of childcare is challenging for care of their children. mothers’ employment. Studies from urban contexts where many mothers participate in Childcare hours. Hours that correspond to women’s the informal sector also show that childcare improves women’s workdays allow for mothers to be fully employed. Though the goal of childcare—especially school-based childcare (e.g. are very young. In addition, relatives may refuse impromptu preschools)—is often thought of as primarily educational or for care for an infant who cannot go to childcare when they early childhood development, they can also free mothers from become ill (and younger children have more fragile care duties. However, childcare hours are not always as long as immune systems than older children), while they would a full workday. Childcare policy that seeks to support mothers’ be willing to do it for an older child. This stigma (where employment must address this discrepancy in length of the mothers are socially ostracized for utilizing childcare services) or lack of back-up care may drive women out school day and a typical workday. Moreover, non-educational of labor market completely. Additionally, infant care is after-school care may also be considered as a complementary generally more intensive than preschool care, so it is extension to primary schools or preschools. provided at a higher cost. For example, in São Paulo, Childcare location. Proximity of childcare to the home or Brazil, the child-to-instructor ratios must be 7 or less for work helps reduce time and travel costs of childcare. Although children younger than 2 years while children age 4 years childcare at work has some clear advantages for working mothers and older can be in classrooms of up to 25 students [8]. (the possibility of seeing their children during breaks, no extra time needed on the commute to stop at a childcare center, the Policy recommendation: If the primary policy goal of length of childcare aligned exactly with work), these need to be childcare provision is to increase maternal labor force balanced with health and cultural considerations around having participation, focusing on older children will likely be most children at the work environment and on the commute. In cases fruitful. Other policies to support mothers’ connection when the governments mandate the provision of childcare, it is to the labor force during their children’s infancy may important to ensure that the requirement is linked to total number be necessary, such as longer periods of parental leave of employees, not the number of female employees so as not to and/or flexible work options. For example, Mexico, discourage the hiring of women. Thailand, and Tanzania have voluntary contribution Cost and quality of childcare. Demand for childcare is likely schemes for self-employed and casual or temporary determined by both cost and quality of childcare. All 22 papers workers to enable access to maternity leave benefits [6]. in our review studied low-cost childcare options . One study, 2 looking at the phasing-out of publicly provided childcare and Mothers already solved the childcare problem with the transition to commercial-based programs, shows reductions relative care. Some mothers do not need to rely on in childcare enrollment and mothers’ employment [4]. While institutional care because other family members already none of the studies reviewed looks into the quality of childcare, provide care for their children. In the worst-case scenario, qualitative interviews suggest that low quality discourages these are siblings who may miss out on school or other women from enrolling their children in childcare services [5]. opportunities. More commonly, grandparents provide informal care to young children, allowing the mother to WHAT FACTORS BESIDES CHILDCARE work. In these cases, providing institutional childcare may AVAILABILITY INFLUENCE MATERNAL enable grandmothers to participate in the labor force. LABOR FORCE ENTRY AND WHAT DO THEY IMPLY FOR POLICY? Policy recommendation: Governments should consider In the 22 studies reviewed, the increase in mothers’ labor the benefits of childcare on other household members: supply was always smaller than the increase in childcare prolonging human capital accumulation of older sisters and provision. For example, in slums in Brazil [6] and Kenya labor market participation among grandmothers, which [3], being allocated childcare resulted in an increase in the may be important in aging societies. probability of maternal employment by 10% and 17%, respectively. That maternal employment does not perfectly align with childcare provision indicates additional factors are at Wages are too low to entice mothers to work. Finally, several play related, for example, to mothers’ preferences and social studies indicated that women took advantage of childcare norms, family circumstances, or local labor market conditions. but did not begin working. In lower-income settings, women’s Preference for maternal care of very young children. There earnings may still be quite low—so they cannot afford help may be a strong social norm for maternal care when children or outsource domestic work with the earnings if they were 2 12 papers investigated childcare as part of the (heavily-subsidized) public school system; 3 papers looked at freely-provided childcare, 1 at voucher-subsidized childcare, 1 at employer-provided childcare, and 5 at childcare services specifically targeting low-income households or areas. otherwise engaged in market work—particularly when considering the amount of domestic work that may remain if women live in contexts without domestic appliances and amenities. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Mothers’ entry into the labor market, if not accompanied by changes in attitude or distribution This brief is a product of of household and childcare responsibilities, might mean that women end up shouldering a collaboration between EAPGIL double responsibility of labor market and household work, which may be difficult to balance. and Gender CCSA. It was prepared by Daniel Halim, Policy recommendation: More and better job creation for women, such as through Elizaveta Perova, and Sarah entrepreneurship or training programs, should be provided in tandem with childcare. Reynolds, with inputs from Additionally, programs are needed to encourage gender equality within the home and to Andrew Mason. We gratefully ease tensions around women taking on the provider role;4 to expand access to labor-saving acknowledge funding from technologies (e.g. modern cooking technology) and better infrastructure (e.g. piped water) the Umbrella Facility for reducing time on domestic work. Gender Equality (UFGE) to carry out this work. EAPGIL CONCLUSIONS is supported by UFGE in Research from developing countries finds overwhelmingly that childcare provision improves partnership with the Australian maternal labor force outcomes. This finding highlights that childcare policy benefits mothers’ Department of Foreign Affairs labor market engagement in addition to supporting early childhood development outcomes and Trade. UFGE has received (especially among disadvantaged and vulnerable children), benefits already well-documented generous contributions from in the literature. The studies reviewed here were carried out in a variety of countries and Australia, Bill & Melinda included a number of different types of childcare models. Even in locations where many women Gates Foundation, Canada, combine work outside the home with minding their children, childcare is found to improve Denmark, Finland, Germany, mothers’ productivity or welfare. However, for childcare to be most conducive to maternal Iceland, Latvia, Netherlands, labor force participation and to improve maternal productivity, policy makers must take into Norway, Spain, Sweden, account mothers’ preferences, social norms, and the nature of the labor market in order to Switzerland, United Kingdom, optimally design childcare services. and the United States. REFERENCES [1]. O. Attanasio, M. Vera-Hernandez, Medium-and long run effects of nutrition and child care: evaluation of a community nursery programme in rural Colombia, Centre for the Evaluationof Development Policies of the Institute for Fiscal Studies. (2004). [2]. H.-A. Dang, M. Hiraga, V.N. Cuong, Childcare and Maternal Employment: Evidence from Vietnam, Social Science Research Network, Rochester, NY, 2019. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=3430469 (accessed February 16, 2021). [3]. S. Clark, C.W. Kabiru, S. Laszlo, S. Muthuri, The Impact of Childcare on Poor Urban Women’s Economic Empowerment in Africa, Demography. 56 (2019) 1247–1272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-019-00793-3. [4]. F. Du, X. Dong, Y. Zhang, Grandparent-provided childcare and labor force participation of mothers with preschool children in Urban China, China Popul. Dev. Stud. 2 (2019) 347–368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42379-018-00020-3. [5]. A.E. Devercelli, F. Beaton-Day, Better Jobs and Brighter Futures: Investing in Childcare to Build Human Capital, World Bank, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1596/35062. [6]. R.P. Barros, P. Olinto, T. Lunde, M. Carvalho, The Impact of Access to Free Childcare on Women’s Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Low-income Neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, in: Washington, D.C., 2011: p. 21. [7]. M.R. Kilburn, A. Datar, The Availability of Child Care Centers in China and Its Impact on Child Care and Maternal Work Decisions, RAND Corporation, 2002. https://ideas.repec.org/p/ran/wpaper/dru-2924-nih.html (accessed February 16, 2021). [8]. V. Sanfelice, Universal Public Childcare and Labor Force Participation of Mothers in Brazil, in: Essays on Public Policies Using City Neighborhoods Variation, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 2019. FOR MORE INFORMATION Elizaveta Perova eperova@worldbank.org Daniel Halim dhalim@worldbank.org http://www.worldbank.org/eapgil 3 For example, Equimundo offers programs which promote men’s caregiving and active fatherhood to encourage  equitable gender roles: www.equimundo.org