Empowering women through provision of quality childcare services and strengthening their capacities to engage in paid labor opportunities: Preliminary findings from Nakuru County Posted on 20/02/2023 by Allan Musumba PUBLICATIONS RESOURCES // PUBLICATIONS Briefing Papers Empowering women through provision of quality childcare services and strengthening their capacities to engage in paid labor opportunities: Preliminary findings from Nakuru County Maternal and Child Wellbeing February 2023 Women spend disproportionately more time on unpaid work such as childcare and household chores than men. Childcare responsibilities and household chores seem to impede women’s participation in paid work. The quality and cost of paid childcare services also influence a woman’s decision to take her children to childcare facilities and engage in employment or stay at home and look after her children. Interventions that provide alternative childcare options can enable women to meaningfully contribute to economic production processes. The challenges faced by women in balancing childcare and paid work are compounded in low-income urban contexts where employment opportunities are limited, and fragmented social networks often mean that mothers cannot rely on kin to provide childcare support. Work-related constraints such as long working hours and workplace environments that are not conducive for parenting obligations such as exclusive breastfeeding, further frustrate women’s ambitions. In awareness of this gap and to have a sustainable solution, Kidogo, a social enterprise, seeks to improve women’s access to high-quality, affordable early childhood care and education to support their children’s healthy growth and development. The the overall purpose of the study which was carried out by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Kidogo model in improving women’s labor outcomes and identify aspects of the model that could work in other settings. Download CONTRIBUTORS Research Scientist Patricia Kitsao-Wekulo Patricia obtained a PhD in Psychology from the University of… View Profile Communications Assistant Charity Waweru-Mwangi Charity Waweru-Mwangi is a Communications Assistant in the Synergy Unit… View Profile Research Officer Linda Oloo Linda is a research officer in the Maternal Child and… View Profile Post-Doctoral Research Scientist Silas Onyango Silas Onyango is a Post-doctoral Research Scientist in the Human… View Profile Research Scientist Margaret Nampijja Dr Margaret Nampijja is a developmental psychologist with a medical… View Profile SIMILAR PUBLICATIONS Technical Reports Women’s participation in household decision-making and higher dietary diversity: findings from nationally representative data from Ghana Journal Articles Women’s education and utilization of maternal health services in Africa: a multi-country and socioeconomic status analysis Journal Articles Who Helps Single Mothers in Nairobi? The Role of Kin Support Journal Articles What does quality maternity care mean in a context of medical pluralism? Perspectives of women in Nigeria Briefing Papers What are the Benefits of Subsidized Early Childcare? Evidence from Kenya Short Report Urban Profile Kenya Short Report Urban Nutrition Case Study Briefing Papers Urban Health Assessment: Nutrition and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Challenges Facing Children and Adolescents in Urban Slums in Nairobi Briefing Papers Urban health assessment: Nutrition and Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) challenges faced by children and adolescents in urban slums in Nairobi