Supporting Working Mothers Through Improved Daycare Services

Improved daycare services can help Indonesian women seize opportunities to work and participate in improving Indonesia’s economy.

Being a mother as well as working is a challenge for Indonesian women. Many women eventually stop working after getting married and having children. In addition, the female labor force is still relatively low. According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), in 2021 the number of female workers in Indonesia will be 35.57 percent, far below the male workforce which reaches 43.97 percent.

The results of a World Bank study found the importance of access to child care or daycare services for women workers. But unfortunately, the availability of quality and affordable daycare is still a problem in Indonesia. There are still many daycares with child care procedures that tend to be irregular, not equipped with adequate safety devices, and there are no set standards for being a caregiver.

The Importance of Daycare for Working Mothers

According to the World Bank, the lack of affordable and quality daycare services is one of the obstacles for women who want to work or earn an income. Increasing access to daycare services has a strong correlation with increasing women’s employment opportunities. This study found that if more child care services were provided, the participation and opportunities for mothers to work would increase, thereby contributing more to the country’s economic growth.

Working mothers can support the quality of family welfare by adding economic value, even helping them get out of poverty. Working mothers can also help their children to get a better education and improve their baby’s nutrition.

Supporting investments in the care and development of children in their first 1000 days of life can have long-term benefits. In addition, in the short term, economic gains can be realized through increasing women’s employment and income. In this case, government intervention is crucial.

An increase in the budget for improved childcare services could encourage more women to join the labor market and earn an income. In addition, with an increase in female labor force participation to 58 percent, the World Bank estimates that the Indonesian economy will grow by USD 62 billion and don’t forget to visit our website to get other interesting information by the page here