Childcare and women’s work: Are these connected?
Painel de Discussão | Online
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Organizado por:
Institute for What Works for Gender Equality
Sobre o evento
The unequal and unpaid childcare responsibilities that women bear within their households significantly hinder female labor force participation in India. It is crucial to relieve women of these care responsibilities to enable their economic empowerment while ensuring their children are well cared for.
India's care economy, which includes childcare and elder care, is a critical yet often overlooked sector. Women's disproportionate share of unpaid care work limits their opportunities for paid employment and career advancement. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), Indian women spend approximately 297 minutes per day on unpaid care work, compared to 31 minutes spent by men. This disparity contributes to the low female labor force participation rate in India, which stands at around 20% according to recent estimates.
IWWAGE has begun delving into the issue of maternal employment and center-based child care facilities by exploring various aspects of the question. Research indicates that access to reliable and affordable childcare can significantly impact women's ability to participate in the workforce. Studies show that women are more likely to seek and retain employment if they have access to quality childcare services. For instance, the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) includes childcare as a factor influencing women's ability to engage in productive work.
Additionally, initiatives such as the National Crèche Scheme aim to provide affordable childcare solutions, but their reach and effectiveness remain limited. Expanding these programs and ensuring their proper implementation can play a pivotal role in addressing the childcare burden on women. Furthermore, community-based childcare models, supported by organizations like SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), have demonstrated positive outcomes in empowering women and enhancing their economic participation.
In the panel discussion titled "CHILDCARE AND WOMEN’S WORK: ARE THESE CONNECTED?", we will explore the intricate connections between childcare responsibilities and women's labor force participation. By examining successful models and identifying gaps in current policies, we aim to develop actionable recommendations that can support women's economic empowerment through improved childcare solutions.
India's care economy, which includes childcare and elder care, is a critical yet often overlooked sector. Women's disproportionate share of unpaid care work limits their opportunities for paid employment and career advancement. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), Indian women spend approximately 297 minutes per day on unpaid care work, compared to 31 minutes spent by men. This disparity contributes to the low female labor force participation rate in India, which stands at around 20% according to recent estimates.
IWWAGE has begun delving into the issue of maternal employment and center-based child care facilities by exploring various aspects of the question. Research indicates that access to reliable and affordable childcare can significantly impact women's ability to participate in the workforce. Studies show that women are more likely to seek and retain employment if they have access to quality childcare services. For instance, the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) includes childcare as a factor influencing women's ability to engage in productive work.
Additionally, initiatives such as the National Crèche Scheme aim to provide affordable childcare solutions, but their reach and effectiveness remain limited. Expanding these programs and ensuring their proper implementation can play a pivotal role in addressing the childcare burden on women. Furthermore, community-based childcare models, supported by organizations like SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), have demonstrated positive outcomes in empowering women and enhancing their economic participation.
In the panel discussion titled "CHILDCARE AND WOMEN’S WORK: ARE THESE CONNECTED?", we will explore the intricate connections between childcare responsibilities and women's labor force participation. By examining successful models and identifying gaps in current policies, we aim to develop actionable recommendations that can support women's economic empowerment through improved childcare solutions.
Orador/a
| Nome | Título | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Divya Singh | Research Manager | Divya Singh has worked extensively on issues of gender equity and environmental sustainability. She has around ten years of experience in the field, working for national and international development organizations. Her focus areas have been gender budgeting, child budgeting and climate finance. She has an MA and MPhil in Political Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University and an MSc in Environmental Assessment and Management from the University of East Anglia. |
| Dr. Bidisha Mondal | Research Fellow | Bidisha has worked extensively in various dimensions of socio-economic inequalities. Her core research interests lie in analyzing gender gap and discrimination faced by marginalized social categories in Indian labour market. Besides, she has thoroughly studied the trends in healthcare expenditure among Indian households and various kinds of inequalities existing there. Bidisha has completed her masters from University of Calcutta and Ph.D. from Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Her doctoral study looks into various kinds of labour market segmentation in Indian manufacturing sector. Before joining IWWAGE, Bidisha has worked with National Institute of Public Finance and Policy for more than four years. Her research works got published in many peer-reviewed journals of national and international repute. |
| Sruthi Kutty | Program Manager | Sruthi is a Program Manager (Research) at IWWAGE. In the past, she has donned various roles in the policy and government consulting realms working on a range of developmental issues with think tanks, government agencies, civil society organizations and citizens’ groups. Before joining IWWAGE, she worked with UN Women as the Coordinator of the Feminist Policy Collective. Sruthi’s experience comprises of diverse engagements around feminist economics, women’s entrepreneurship, gender-sensitive urban planning as well as documenting the gendered impact of development projects. She holds a Bachelors degree in Engineering from Mumbai University, a Masters degree in Public Policy & Governance from Azim Premji University, Bangalore and a PG Diploma in Communications from Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. She is generally always on a quest to find feminist perspectives in everyday life. |
Moderators
| Nome | Título | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Prakriti Sharma | Senior Research Associate | Prakriti is a Senior Research Associate at IWWAGE. She holds a Post Graduate Degree from TERI School of Advanced Studies in Sustainable Development Practice. As a researcher, she has worked for organisations such as IFAD India, UNICEF Uganda and NITI Aayog where she has conducted on-field research studies, supervised primary and secondary data collection, led and conducted desk reviews, performed data analysis and co-authored various reports. Throughout her career, her core research interests have been gender and livelihoods. |