Public Disclosure Authorized Making it Work for Women: What SPJ Projects are Doing in the Care Space Learning by doing: insights from the RSR gender window Public Disclosure Authorized DECEMBER 2021 KEY MESSAGES The burden of unpaid care work, including child and elder care, as well as care of family members living Definitions with disabilities, disproportionately falls on women Care work: consists of activities “involved in meeting the and girls, negatively affecting their labor force physical, psychological and emotional needs of adults and participation (LFP), education, and well-being, and children.” This includes direct and indirect care both within increasing time poverty. and outside the home, which can be paid or unpaid. Public Disclosure Authorized The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the urgent Indirect care: refers to tasks related to the maintenance of need for investment in the care of children, elderly, and homes or communities (sometimes called domestic work) persons with disabilities. The care economy is growing that provide the preconditions for personal caregiving. It can in all regions and holds potential for job creation as include cleaning, preparing food, laundry, etc. the demand for child and elder care increases with Direct care: refers to tasks that involve face-to-face personal demographic and societal shifts. care activities, such as caring for children, persons with disabilities, older adults or people who are sick. Social protection and jobs (SPJ) teams are increasingly engaging in the care space though policy and investment Care economy: is the sum of all forms of care work, lending and analytical work, focused on closing care comprising unpaid carers and care workers.1 provision gaps through public works, developing models Time poverty: “the lack of time needed for individuals to of community-based care provision, and supporting meet their basic requirements for rest and leisure… owing to government policy with diagnostic tools. an excess of paid work and unpaid care and domestic work.”2 Public Disclosure Authorized WHAT ARE THE ISSUES? The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the heavy care which offers more flexibility or allows them to bring those burden faced by women around the world. Yet care work they care for to the workplace.5 These jobs are typically has always constrained women’s LFP, resulting in a loss more precarious, with less regulation or guarantee of of income for them and their households, as well as a income, and lack of social security and other benefits, loss of GDP.3 Unpaid care work can also reduce women’s compounding the gender pay and pension gaps.6 productivity when conducted at the same time as income- generating work.4 Women also often opt for informal work * The RSR Gender Window Briefing Note Series provides insights into the approaches, lessons, and challenges of projects implemented under the RSR Gender Window. This brief was written by Lindsay Mossman. The author is grateful for insights and feedback provided by Elena Glinskaya, Mark Dorfmann, Santiago de la Cadena Becerra, Amer Ahmed, Silas Udahemuka, Hugo Brousset Chaman, Iftikhar Malik, Luz Stella Rodriguez, Ursula Milagros Martinez Angulo, Nelson Gutierrez, Gaston Mariano, Gustavo Demarco, and Veronica Silva Villalobos. Many thanks also to Alessandra Heinemann, Mattias Lundberg, and Loli Arribas-Banos for their guidance. 1 COVID-19 and Care Work The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns have increased care burdens, which have been disproportionately shouldered by women. During pandemic school closures, women in low- and middle-income countries worked, on average, an additional 217 hours in unpaid care, compared to an additional 70 hours by men.7 UN Women has reported that between April and November 2020, women spent an additional 5.2 hours per week on unpaid care work compared to an additional 3.5 for men, on average.8 Despite the increased care burdens, only 8 percent of countries have addressed unpaid care in their COVID-19 measures.9 Women are also overrepresented in the most affected occupations in terms of job losses and closures, due to their engagement in informal and/or insecure work. Care service providers have faced revenue losses, higher operating costs, and limited guidance on safe re-opening.10 Investment to address high care burdens is needed, including measures to respond to the particular challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Childcare: Unmet demand and redistribution Elder care: Women both require and provide care Access to affordable childcare is key to increasing women’s Aging affects women in multiple ways: a larger percentage LFP in low and middle-income countries.11 However, the large of the aged population is female, as women have longer unmet need for childcare is also greatest in these countries. life expectancies than men. Older women also typically Beyond increasing women’s LFP and household income, face a higher risk of poverty compared to men, because benefits of improving access to quality childcare include they are less likely to have pensions. Elderly people require better educational attainment, BETTER CHILD productivity, learning, IMPROVED BETTER IMPROVED CHILD and more care due to declining health, with care in turn mostly WOMEN’S WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT ultimately economic growth. EMPLOYMENT 12 OUTCOMES EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES falling on women within households in the absence of relevant, accessible services.16 BETTER IMPROVED BETTER CHILD INCREASED INCREASED IMPROVED CHILD INCREASED INCREASED Persons with disabilities: Care provision by women family members WOMEN’S WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTIVITY DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTIVITY FAMILY FAMILY EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES AND ECONOMIC OUTCOMES AND ECONOMIC WELFARE WELFARE GROWTH GROWTH Similarly, women normally take care of family members Engaging men in childcare is an important approach to living with disabilities, with home-based care being redistributing care work. A key INCREASED INCREASED measure to engage men increasingly preferred during the COVID-19 crisis. INCREASED INCREASED is paternity FAMILY WELFARE leave, which PRODUCTIVITY AND FAMILY ECONOMIC WELFARE linked is also AND to improvements in PRODUCTIVITY ECONOMIC Care provision approaches: Shifts and GROWTH GROWTH men’s self-reported well-being, relationship satisfaction, and long-term contribution to care work.13 However, emerging models uptake of paternity leave is often low due to gender Many families rely on older family members or younger norms around provision of care, requiring additional women and girls to provide care.17 However, this family interventions to make this effective.14 The type of care model has come under strain due to demographic paternity leave also matters: non-transferable paternity and societal shifts, such as the growing elderly population leave which reserves a certain number of days for fathers, and migration for work.18 Other approaches to care increases uptake of leave days among men, and may help provision include the following: shift gender norms around care work.15 Figure 1 Child and Elder Care Provision Approaches19 Direct government Financial support Incentives for Employer supported Public-Private Partnership: provision for families non-state provision childcare Private provision (including community-based care) under government stewardship The care economy is a growing sector, due to both the unmet need for childcare and aging populations. It also holds potential for the creation of jobs which cannot be automated.20 2 WHAT HAVE WE TRIED? SPJ teams are addressing care issues through develop- lack of affordable, good quality preschool and daycare ment policy lending, investment lending, and analytical services. A development policy operation included the work around the demand for care services, COVID-19 Registration and Administration of Service Providers related adaptations, and diagnostic tools for care service and Premises Regulations 2020, which aimed to improve provision decision-making. quality and access to early childhood education, thereby enabling women’s labor force participation.25 Policy Lending In Bangladesh, key barriers to women’s access to quality Investment Lending jobs include their disproportionate responsibility for SPJ projects are increasingly incorporating care services caregiving and household work. In urban areas, women’s either directly (e.g. making childcare available at vocational LFP drops dramatically upon marriage and further with training sites) or indirectly by paying beneficiaries young children.21 In terms of childcare provision, there are stipends to cover childcare costs. In Burkina Faso, the challenges related to the absence of licensing policies Youth Employment and Skills Development Project and regulations or standards, and a lack of systematic developed a mobile creche model delivered alongside provision of public or private daycare services. The a labor-intensive public works program.26 This allows Bangladesh Jobs Development Policy Credit (DPC) series workers to bring their children to the worksite where included prior actions related to the passage of the Child they are cared for by other public works participants. Daycare Bill 2021. This law aims to develop an institutional Mobile creches are set up under trees, in empty buildings framework, licensing, and regulation for daycare centres, provided by a local authority, or in a weather resistant intended to increase their availability and regulate the tent. The project included education and training for quality of care in public and private institutions.22 caregivers, as well as nutritional supplements for children and vaccinations.27 The model has been expanded to Alongside the DPC series, analytical work is helping public works projects in Cameroon, Democratic Republic to identify the care needs and preferences among the of Congo, Ethiopia, and Madagascar.28 poorest women in Bangladesh.23 A needs assessment focusing on women who are eligible for social assistance Some public works projects are expanding on the mobile in the Dhaka metropolitan area will identify existing care creche model to provide more sustained childcare. For options, factors for uptake of services, current costs of example, in Ghana the Productive Safety Net Project's care, and willingness to pay. An action plan is now in Labor Intensive Public Works component incorporated development to identify the best entry points for the onsite childcare by building physical creche structures, introduction of affordable care features in existing or each with two rooms, one for playing and the other for future safety net projects. sleeping. Parents provide food for children and care is provided by other public works participants who receive In Albania, the gap in women’s LFP is greatest for women basic training.29 of childbearing age, partly because of a lack of early childhood education and care facilities. A development In Rwanda, social protection reforms supported through policy loan included the launch of a pilot after-school a programmatic Human Capital for Inclusive Growth program to improve the quality and availability of pre- Development Policy Financing (DPF) among others, school and basic education. An Employment Promotion have focused on expanding the coverage of expanded Law enhanced the delivery of employment services to public works (ePW), introduced in 2016 to offer year- members of vulnerable groups, including young women, round and flexible work opportunities to moderately single mothers, and parents of children with disabilities. labor constrained households with care responsibilities.30 It also provided subsidies for childcare services for With support of the Strengthening Social Protection women registered in the national employment services Project, an innovative community and home-based early database to expand their labor market opportunities.24 childhood development (ECD) program is being rolled out.31 The ePW beneficiaries are employed as caregivers In Kiribati, women are 20 percent less likely to be in the for children aged 3-5 years from neighboring households, labor force than men, and most women are in non-regular which select a home to host the ECD facility.32 Home- employment, particularly due to care burdens and a based ECD also includes a program of community- 3 based parenting training and supervision, linkages with In Ecuador and Peru, childcare and ECD support other community based services such as Community services have shifted to virtual delivery modalities Health Workers, and follows the national minimum during COVID-19. In Ecuador, ECD service delivery standards on ECD set by the Government of Rwanda.33 included weekly phone calls by trained staff to parents These interventions are accompanied by analytical to provide information on key behaviors for improved and advisory work to better understand beneficiaries’ child development and nutrition. Analytical work is knowledge, attitudes, and practices around caregiving now underway to assess the effects of the transition and parenting and to improve intervention design and to virtual delivery, including on women’s increased implementation. Options for digital delivery of parenting care work and labor market outcomes. In Peru, the support services are also being developed to support Cuna Mas ECD program provides daycare services in continuity of interventions amidst restrictions imposed urban areas and home visits in rural areas, targeting by COVID-19 and also for regular use in future.34 children under age three. During COVID-19, Cuna Mas services were adapted to include remote counselling Some projects are increasingly engaging men in childcare (instead of in-person services), as well as the design efforts to redistribute the burden of care. For example of a mobile app for monitoring, and audio-visual in Serbia, the Strong from the Start - Give them Wings content for dissemination through radio, television, and program is being piloted to encourage fathers to increase social media. These innovations allowed the program to their participation in parenting. The program provides continue closely monitoring families during the very rigid virtual parenting workshops and sends weekly SMS lockdown imposed, ensuring children could maintain messages to fathers with parenting guidance.35 access to a basic package of services and messaging. Analytical work is underway to review the effects of Analytical Work these adaptations on women’s economic inclusion, and In Colombia, the District of Bogotá has developed a to contribute to the design of the national ECD policy.39 District Care System (SIDICU) and is piloting Manzanas de Cuidados (“care blocks”), providing a neighbourhood In Asia, increased demand for care is driven by the aging approach to supporting caregivers, particularly those population.40 Aging is bringing about increasing levels providing care for the elderly and persons with disabilities. of vulnerability among the elderly; as people are living They offer more than 30 public and private services for longer there are growing numbers of elderly unable to caregivers, such as respite, employability training and care for themselves. Women engaged in caring for the support, and recreational activities.36 They also provide elderly may have to remove themselves from the labor services for men to learn how to cook, clean, and engage force either partially or fully to do this work. Elder care in other care work to redistribution the burden of care. spans many sectors, with needs varying widely from Manzanas are intended to be a ‘square of care’ and are basic services to specialized rehabilitation services. As located throughout the city to enable easy access.37 a result, strong linkages are needed between different The pilot Manzanas are located in existing buildings or services and institutions, alongside oversight of public operate as mobile care units. and private care provision.41 Analytical work is underway in East and South Asia to develop a toolkit which will The World Bank is providing technical assistance to the provide an assessment methodology and template for District of Bogotá to improve the delivery of services diagnostics of the state of elder care and monitoring through the Manzanas.38 This involves defining the ideal their changes over time at the policy, service delivery, urban design for the Manzanas, with the aim of supporting and household levels. The toolkit will support decision- expansion of the pilot. The Manzanas prototype will making around the allocation of fiscal resources into consider services and accessibility, strengthening the elder care, including making the case for elder care care infrastructure in Bogotá. In addition, an analysis of interventions and cost-effective approaches, as well as mechanisms is underway to improve access to longer- the selection of specific instruments and institutions. It term care services. A planned survey of women attending will include an analytical methodology and provide a the Manzanas will provide further insight on the barriers framework with design and institutional options, as well they are facing in accessing labor market opportunities. as case studies of elder care systems in middle-income countries.42 4 WHAT ARE WE LEARNING FROM Program design needs to incorporate the 3.  gender dimensions of care OUR ENGAGEMENTS? To ensure that engagement in the care space Lessons shared by the project teams include the importance promotes women’s empowerment and meets the of generating demand for and sustaining investment in needs of the predominantly women caregivers, care work, including through government stewardship of these aspects need to be central to program design. care markets, focusing on quality of care services, and Considering the specific needs of women with care incorporating gender analysis and needs assessments of responsibilities at the design stage improves the impact women caregivers as part of program design. on women’s labor market outcomes. Specifically, this includes consideration of the duration of care Generate demand for and sustain investment 1.  provision, distance to care facilities, and coordination in care work of different types of care services.43 Incorporating In Colombia, the increases in women’s care burden assessments of these needs and specific measures during the pandemic provided an important catalyst to respond to them within projects is necessary to for engagement. However, during the recovery move the needle on women's LFP and other aspects period, other pressing issues have taken precedence. of women’s economic empowerment. Continued engagement to generate demand for and sustain investment in the care economy has been key A World Bank-wide assessment found that to positioning this as central to economic recovery childcare is often added to projects ad hoc during and long-term growth. implementation, but there is little systematic and sustainable investment in childcare as a key In East and South Asia, the focus on the recovery from intervention. SPJ projects should consider the degree COVID-19 has made policy engagement around elder of formality of the care centre, the age of children, care a challenge. Generating engagement on elder and monitor the impacts of care services on women’s care requires starting with assessments of supply ability to engage in productive and non-productive and demand for care services, providing evidence on activities as part of designing childcare interventions.44 the costs and benefits of care service provision, and Similarly, a recent evaluation of World Bank support identifying policy and institutional options. to aging economies found that the current approach to elder care and aging does not sufficiently focus 2. Strengthen and invest in quality of services on women’s roles in providing care.45 A more explicit Focusing on the quality of services is not only key to focus on the experiences of women, and of women human capital outcomes, but also to build demand and caregivers, is needed. uptake. Quality of care provision is a key focus area for SPJ projects. In Rwanda, the engagement of public works beneficiaries as caregivers initially presented a WHAT COMES NEXT? capacity challenge. The project incorporated training and capacity building, developing materials targeted SPJ teams are increasingly engaging in the care to the levels of education and literacy of participants. space, often as part of multi-sectoral work with other Targeting women with experience as caregivers, Global Practices, such as in Bangladesh and Rwanda. including for family members with disabilities, can Financing care is a long-term priority and is particularly also improve quality of paid care work by building on pressing in pandemic response and recovery.46 Moving existing skills and enabling women to move into paid forward, engaging the private sector and strengthening employment. interventions to address service provision, choice, and quality, alongside increasing demand, is necessary. Quality considerations need to be part of intervention design, alongside engagement with partners on the Within programs, monitoring of the effects of care development or implementation of national quality provision on the different dimensions of women’s standards for child or elder care. empowerment will facilitate building the case for greater investment in the sector. More experimentation is needed to find effective policy and project approaches to engage men and redistribute care burdens.47 5 ANNEX: KEY CHALLENGES IN CARE PROVISION Within care work, key issues relate to regulation, access and affordability, quality and associated trust issues, and social and gender norms. 1. Regulatory framework and unequal legislation In many countries, women face laws and regulations that restrict their economic opportunities.48 Laws and regulations may also provide insufficient coverage of care needs, resulting in a lack of child and elder care. Further, limited compliance with care service requirements among employers or private providers may reduce the effectiveness of legislation that is in place.49 Governments often treat care related services, including child and elder care, as a ‘program’ or ad-hoc benefit, rather than as core service provision. The lack of clear regulatory frameworks and fragmented service delivery affects the quality and efficiency of provision. For instance, the limited integration between health and elderly care services places an increased burden on hospitals for needs that could be met through home or community-based services. While gaps in provision of care services may be addressed through community groups, NGOs, and/or the private sector, these options are not as financially sustainable or expansive in terms of reach, reinforcing the need for government engagement and integrated systems.50 2. Access and affordability Limited access to care services is a key challenge, as provision of formal care services is often limited, and services which do exist are frequently not located in proximity to those who need it, or there is insufficient transportation to access care.51 Hours of care provision and information about care services also affect access and uptake. In addition, the lack of affordable care options is a key constraint. Many working poor may not be able to afford private care options and may not be eligible for subsidized services, including those provided by NGOs. In terms of ECD, countries in which there is limited government engagement typically have lower enrollment rates due to the financial burden associated with enrolling children in ECD services.52 For elder care, public services may be provided for those who qualify for social welfare, while some may be able to pay for private services, leaving the middle class without affordable options.53 Government funding and engagement in care services thus plays a key role in ensuring availability and affordability.54 3. Quality of care Quality of care affects service uptake, as well as determining human capital outcomes. Quality is linked to the lower value often placed on care work and care workers.55 Care workers often lack training, receive poor pay, and lack social protection, all of which can result in rapid turnover and labor shortages.56 This in turn may result in lower quality care, which alongside a lack of trust in the quality of services can limit demand.57 Most low- and middle-income countries lack robust quality standards for care provision.58 World Bank projects should aim to accord with national policies and regulatory frameworks around quality of care, or to establish a minimum standard of quality.59 4. Social and gender norms Gendered social norms usually dictate that care provision is women’s work, with expectations that women are ‘natural’ caregivers.60 In terms of childcare, social norms may be stronger around women’s care for infants or younger children.61 In elder care, norms around care obligations for elderly parents largely result in care provision by female family members, mainly wives, daughters, and daughters-in-law.62 Defying norms around the provision of care by anyone outside the family as being unacceptable could result in sanctions, such as social stigma. Efforts to shift gendered norms of care provision are needed to redistribute the burden of care. 6 RESOURCES Care Work International Labour Organization, “Care Work and Care Jobs: For the Future of Decent Work,” Geneva: 2018. Childcare Amanda Devercelli and Frances Beaton-Day, “Better Jobs and Brighter Futures: Investing in Childcare to Build Human Capital” World Bank, 2020. Aletheia Donald et al, “Caring about Carework: Lifting Constrains to the Productivity of Women Farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Gender Innovation Lab, 2018. Aletheia Donald et al, “Investing in Childcare for Women’s Economic Empowerment,” World Bank Gender Innovation Lab, 2018. Kate Grantham et al, “Evidence Review of The Global Childcare Crisis and The Road For Post-Covid-19 Recovery and Resilience,” International Development Research Center, 2021. Daniel Halim et al, “Childcare and Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries,” World Bank East Asia and the Pacific Region Gender Innovation Lab & Gender Global Theme, 2021. Sarah Haddock et al, “Addressing Childcare in the World Bank Portfolio: Approaches, Experiences, and Lessons Learned,” World Bank and Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality, 2019. International Finance Corporation, “ Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare” 2017. Development Policy Operations World Bank, Gender Tag DPO Dashboard. World Bank, Women, Business and the Law Database. Elder care Elena Glinskaya and Zhanlian Feng, Options for Aged Care in China: Building an Efficient and Sustainable Aged Care System, World Bank Group, 2018. Independent Evaluation Group, “World Bank Support to Aging Countries: An Independent Evaluation,” World Bank, 2021. World Bank, “Live Long and Prosper: Aging in East Asia and the Pacific,” World Bank East Asia and Pacific Regional Report, 2016. 7 NOTES 1 Care work, Indirect care, Direct care, and Care economy definitions 16 Independent Evaluation Group, “World Bank Support to Aging from International Labour Organization, “Care Work and Care Jobs: Countries: An Independent Evaluation,” World Bank, 2021. For the Future of Decent Work,” Geneva: 2018. According to the United Nations’ World Population Prospects, the 2 UN Women, World Survey on The Role of Women in Development: proportion of people aged 65 and over will more than double from Why Addressing Women’s Income and Time Poverty Matters for 2010 to 2030, and the elderly will account for over one quarter Sustainable Development,” 2019. Women’s time poverty has also of the total population by 2050. As cited in Elena Glinskaya and been defined as “working long hours without choice because an Zhanlian Feng, Options for Aged Care in China: Building an Efficient individual’s household is poor or would be at risk of falling into and Sustainable Aged Care System, World Bank Group, 2018. poverty if the individual reduced her working hours below a certain 17 See Devercelli and Beaton-Day; Daniel Halim, Hillary Johnson and time-poverty line. Time poverty is thus understood as the lack Elizaveta Perova, “Could Childcare Services Improve Women’s of enough time for rest and leisure after accounting for the time Labor Market Outcomes in Indonesia?” World Bank East Asia and that has to be spent working, whether in the labor market, doing Pacific Gender Innovation Lab, March 2017; and Miguel Talamas, domestic work, or performing other activities such as fetching water “Grandmothers and the Gender Gap in the Mexican Labor Market,” and wood.” See Elena Bardasi and Quentin Wodon, “Working Long 2021. Hours and Having No Choice: Time Poverty in Guinea,” Feminist 18 Devercelli and Beaton-Day, 2020. Economics, 16:3, 45-78, 2010. 19 Devercelli and Beaton-Day, 2020, with additional elements based on 3 The ILO has estimated that 647 million working age adults interviews with project teams. globally were hindered from entering the workforce due to family 20 The ILO estimates that by 2030, the number of care recipients is responsibilities, 94 percent of whom were women. Prior to the predicted to reach 2.3 billion, driven by an additional 0.1 billion older pandemic, the ILO estimated that unpaid care work amounted to 9 persons and an additional 0.1 billion children aged 6 to 14 years. percent of the global GDP. International Labour Organization, 2018. ILO 2018. Considering childcare alone, Devercelli and Beaton-Day 4 In DRC, women farmers reported providing care while farming estimate that expanding childcare to meet current needs could or selling at the market, which reduced their overall productivity. create 43 million new jobs worldwide. Devercelli and Beaton-Day, Aletheia Donald et al, “Caring about Carework: Lifting Constrains to 2020. the Productivity of Women Farmers in the Democratic Republic of 21 Jennifer L. Solotaroff et al., “Voices to Choices: Bangladesh’s the Congo,” World Bank Gender Innovation Lab, 2018. Journey Towards Women’s Economic Empowerment,” World Bank, 5 Mercedes Mateo Díaz and Lourdes Rodriguez-Chamussy, “Cashing 2019. in on Education: Women, Childcare, and Prosperity in Latin America 22 Bangladesh Second Programmatic Jobs Development Policy Credit and the Caribbean,” World Bank, 2016. (P168724), 2020. 6 Amanda Devercelli and Frances Beaton-Day, “Better Jobs and 23 Gender-transformative innovations to address social norms Brighter Futures: Investing in Childcare to Build Human Capital” through social safety nets in Bangladesh (linked to Human Capital World Bank, 2020; and as noted in World Bank, “Live Long and Acceleration Program PASA (P174233). Prosper: Aging in East Asia and the Pacific,” World Bank East Asia 24 Albania Gender Equality in Access to Economic Opportunities DPF and Pacific Regional Report, 2016. (P160594), 2020. 7 Charles Kenny and George Yang, “The Global Childcare Workload 25 Kiribati Second Inclusive Growth and Resilience Development Policy from School and Preschool Closures During the COVID-19 Operation (P169179), 2021. Pandemic,” The Center for Global Development, 2021. 26 Burkina Faso, Youth Employment and Skills Development Project 8 UN Women, “Whose Time to Care? Unpaid Care and Domestic Work (P130735), 2019. During COVID-19,” 2020. 27 Sarah Haddock et al, “Addressing Childcare in the World Bank 9 Kate Grantham et al, “Evidence Review of The Global Childcare Portfolio: Approaches, Experiences, and Lessons Learned,” World Crisis and The Road For Post-Covid-19 Recovery and Resilience,” Bank and Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality, 2019. International Development Research Center, 2021. 28 World Bank and Umbrella Facility for Gender Equality, “Results 10 Ibid. Series: Childcare Goes Mobile in Burkina Faso.” 11 Daniel Halim et al, “Childcare and Mothers’ Labor Market Outcomes 29 Ghana Productive Safety Net Project (P164603), 2019. in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries,” World Bank East Asia and 30 World Bank, “Rwanda – First Programmatic Human Capital for the Pacific Region Gender Innovation Lab & Gender Global Theme, Inclusive Growth DPF,” Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice November 2021. Eastern and Southern Africa Region, 2020. ePW provides a 12 Devercelli and Beaton-Day estimate that over 40 percent of all lumpsum amount (10,000 RWF/$10 USD) and a certain number children below primary-school entry age worldwide need childcare of hours of work in a week, with flexibility for beneficiaries to but are not accessing it, and that nearly 80 percent of these children contribute the hours in a time that works for them. This allows are in low and lower-middle income countries. Devercelli and beneficiaries to undertake other care responsibilities or income Beaton-Day, 2020. generating work. ePW primarily includes minor road maintenance 13 Simon Hedlin, “Parental Leave Equality and Subjective Well-Being,” and community cleaning. SSRN, 2016. See also Carl Cederström, “State of Nordic Fathers,” 31 Rwanda Strengthening Social Protection Project (P162646), 2021. Nordic Council of Ministers, 2019. 32 The selected space needs to have basic facilities, such as a clean 14 For instance, in Uruguay, 96 percent of fathers have not used a area, toilets, and an area to prepare light meals. The project subsidy for parents working in the private sector to take leave until provides for some refurbishments in selected homes along with a child is aged 6 months, due in part to social norms around who basic equipment and supplies. In addition, the project covers direct provides care for children. Lourdes Rodriguez-Chamussy, “Co- non-wage costs of ePW, including goods, tools, food, or toys, not Responsibility in Child Care: The Use of Part-Time Paid Parental exceeding 30% of total direct costs, as well as the costs of recruiting Leave in Uruguay,” World Bank, 2021. service providers, trainers of trainers, and supervisors providing 15 Namita Datta and Aphichoke Kotikula, “Not Just More, but Better – support at the community level. Other neighboring households not Fostering Quality of Employment for Women,” Jobs Working Paper engaged in ePW can also participate in home-based ECD, but are Issue No. 1, World Bank Group. not paid from ePW. However, they receive training in the case that they are interacting with children as a caregiver. 8 33 As cited in Haddock et al. and interviews with the project team. 47 Donald et al, “Investing in Childcare for Women’s Economic Alongside Home-Based ECD, the Nutrition Sensitive Direct Support Empowerment”, 2018. (NSDS) co-responsibility cash transfer was also introduced, targeted 48 According to the 2021 Women, Business and the Law report, women to pregnant and lactating women with children under two from the who take time off to care for family members may face greater poorest households. The transfers aim in part to enable recipients to pay inequality, alongside potential effects or reductions on their allocate time to childcare and better parenting during the first 1000 pensions. World Bank, “Women, Business and the Law 2021,” 2021. days of a child’s life. 49 See for instance in Cambodia, “Community- Based Childcare for 34 The analytical work being conducted is part of the Rwanda: Garment Factory Workers Project: Project Information Document/ Social Protection System for Human Capital Development Project Identification/ Concept Stage (PID),” 2019. (P176576). 50 Devercelli and Beaton-Day, 2020. 35 Ana Maria Munoz-Boudet, “Changing Fathers’ Attitudes and 51 Ibid. Involvement in Care and Early Childhood Education: Examples from 52 Ibid. Pilot Interventions in India and Serbia,” World Bank and Umbrella 53 Glinskaya and Feng, 2018. Facility for Gender Equality, 2021. This pilot is part of the Inclusive 54 Haddock et al, 2019. Early Childhood Education and Care Project (P157117), 2017. 55 World Bank, “Women, Business and the Law 2021,” 2021. 36 Note that respite services do not include long-term care nor 56 Devercelli and Beaton-Day, 2020. replacement care, but rather short-term care to enable caregivers to 57 World Bank, “Women, Business and the Law 2021,” 2021. For engage in other activities or receive services. instance, a World Bank study on the labor participation of women 37 Manzanas have a coverage area of around 800 m2 and benefit more in Mexico found a lack of trust in childcare services was the most than 66,000 people, mostly women. important reason for the decision not to engage in paid work 38 Closing the post-pandemic economic and social gender gap in among women. World Bank, “La participación laboral de la mujer en Bogotá (P176408). México,” 2020. 39 Policy options to promote women’s labor and productive inclusion 58 Devercelli and Beaton-Day, 2020. in the recovery of COVID-19 (P176637). 59 Haddock et al, 2019. 40 The speed at which many Asian countries are aging is 60 In Mexico, a key reason for women’s lack of labor force participation unprecedented by global standards. Across the region, the share of and decision to engage in unpaid care work is due to norms around the population over 65 years of age is expected to reach 36 percent expectations of being a good mother. World Bank, “La participación in 2050 (see World Population Prospects 2017 and World Bank laboral de la mujer en México,” 2020. In India, social norms around 2016). the expectation that women are responsible for domestic work is 41 Independent Evaluation Group, 2021. linked to women’s low labor force participation. Ashwini Deshpande 42 Elder Care and Female Employment in Asia - Addressing Aging and Naila Kabeer, “Norms that Matter: Exploring the Distribution of Needs from a Gender Perspective (P173533). Women’s Work between Income Generation, Expenditure –Saving 43 Halim et al, 2021. and Unpaid Domestic Responsibilities in India,” UNU-Wider, 2021. 44 Haddock et al, 2019; and Aletheia Donald et al “Investing in 61 Halim et al, 2021. Childcare for Women’s Economic Empowerment” World Bank 62 Wendy Homes, “Projecting the Need for and Cost of Long-Term Gender Innovation Lab, 2018. Care for Older Persons,” Asian Development Bank, ADB Sustainable 45 Independent Evaluation Group, 2021. Development Working Paper Series, No. 74, February 2021. 46 Grantham et al, 2021. The Social Protection and Jobs team wishes to recognize the generous award of a grant from the World Bank’s Rapid Social Response Adaptive and Dynamic Social Protection (RSR-ADSP) Umbrella Trust Fund Program, which is supported by the Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Australia, Denmark, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation without which this work would not have been possible. 9