Childcare services allow women to devote more time to paid work, a study by the Consortium for Economic and Social Research (CRES) has suggested.
Unpaid work is a burden for women and reduces their chances of economic activity.
To reverse this trend, childcare facilities can be an asset, according to a study on “Unpaid care work by women in Senegal: National trends and international comparisons” conducted by the research think tank CRES.
“Childcare services allow women to free themselves, facilitate their access to the labour market, promote job creation for women, and develop children’s psychomotor skills,” according to the study presented in Dakar on the second day of the first International Colloquium on Women’s Economic Empowerment in West Africa organised by CRES on Thursday.
Presenting the study, Dr Fatou Cisse stressed that mothers/guardians carry out 10 activities a day against seven for men.
In rural areas, women work 12 hours a day against 10 hours daily in urban areas.
“Hence the importance of childcare facilities that reduce the time women spend on domestic work. Women who send their children to these childcare services gain four hours a day,” Dr Cisse added.
Regarding job opportunities offered by childcare centres, the study reveals that 64 to 97 percent of the positions are occupied by women, even though they are paid less than men because of their lack of professional qualifications.
“Given the importance of childcare centres, they should be created in neighbourhoods and workplaces” the CRES study recommends.
The study was funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and conducted in partnership with Senegal’s Women and National Education ministries.
TE/lb/as/APA