Policy Lessons on Access to and Uptake of Childcare Services

Unpaid care work and the lack of access to affordable child care constitute key barriers to women's participation in labor markets. The International Labour Organization estimates that, in 2018, 647 million working-age adults were hindered from entering the workforce due to family responsibilities-94 percent of whom were women. In that year, women's unpaid care work amounted to three-quarters of total unpaid care work, with an estimated value of 9 precent of global GDP. A pilot study by the MNA GIL in Egypt finds that, on average, mothers spent 11 hours per day on childcare and seven hours per day doing household chores. The EAP GIL reviewed causal evidence on the effects of childcare interventions on maternal labor market engagement in low and middle-income countries and found positive impacts for 21 out of the 22 studies considered