Child care is often regarded as part of the education policy, centred around early childhood care and development. But child care is also the provision of a service that has a close relation to social protection and women economic empowerment.

Informal women workers' low earnings mean they work long hours to secure their family livelihood, often times leaving little time for them to care for children living in their households.

But children require care, and without the provision of quality child care services, women either take on more flexible but insecure informal work, work fewer hours in these jobs than they need or want, or are less productive because they have to look after their children while trying to work.

The lack of quality child care options contributes to gender inequalities in labour force participation rates and earnings and to high levels of poverty among women informal workers.

Today we invite Rachel Moussié understand more about this topic. Rachel holds a MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics. She is currently the Deputy Director of the Social Protection programme at WIEGO.

Learn more about child care and informal economy

- Mobilizing for Child Care: http://www.wiego.org/publications/women-informal-workers-mobilizing-child-care
- Child Care Initiative: http://www.wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/publications/files/Alfers-Child-Care-Initiative-Summary-Report.pdf
- Child Care Campaign page: http://www.wiego.org/wiego/wiego-child-care-campaign
- Childcare from the perspective of women informal workers: http://www.wiego.org/publications/childcare-perspective-women-informal-workers
- Literature review on Child Care: http://www.wiego.org/sites/wiego.org/files/resources/files/Alfers-Child-Care-Policy-Employment-Lit-Review.pdf


Our theme music is Focus, from A. A. Aalto (Creative Commons)