World University Service of Canada (WUSC - Malawi)

 

The Action for paid Childcare sector Transformation (ACT) project is a 4-year collaborative initiative that uses an innovative systems approach to drive gender transformative, locally-owned, collaborative action to transform paid childcare from a job of last resort to a vocation of choice, and for the paid childcare sector to become one of economic prosperity for women in Kenya and in Malawi.

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OBJECTIVES

The objective of the project is to enhance the protection and promotion of women’s and girls’ rights and needs related to paid care work, by addressing key aspects of the “5Rs of care work”:

 

1. Recognizing the value of unpaid and poorly paid care work.
2. Reducing the drudgery and hours spent on unpaid care work.
3. Redistributing the responsibility for care work more equitably, both within households and in society.
4. Rewarding care work by ensuring better pay and working conditions.

Representing unpaid and paid care workers to ensure they have a voice in decision-making.

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WHY ACTION FOR PAID CARE?

• The global policy agenda recognizes a pressing need to address women's disproportionate and heavy responsibility for care work and the poor working conditions of care workers (SDG5).

• The Government of Canada has committed to programming that addresses unpaid and paid care work and investing in the care economy, contributing to:

  • Gender equality and women's empowerment

  • The well-being of children and all those cared for.

  • Economic growth, women's labour force participation.

WUSC opportunity for a systems approach to further influence women’s economic empowerment

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KEY OUTCOME AREAS

1. Improve coordination among women childcare providers to strengthen their collective voice and support networks.

2. Increase government engagement in developing and implementing gender responsive childcare policies.

3. Implement training systems to professionalize the childcare workforce and improve service quality.

4. Promote greater accountability among system actors to uphold and protect the rights of women paid childcare providers.

5. Strengthen the capacity of finance and business service providers to meet the specific needs of women in the paid childcare sector.