By Joyce Ojanji
In most African countries, including Uganda, the burden of unpaid care work falls disproportionately on women. This entrenched inequality disempowers most of them by limiting their ability to participate in economic opportunities.
However, a project by Ace Policy Research Institute (APRI), funded under the IDRC’s Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) initiative, is making strides in addressing this issue.
Titled: Supporting Parenting Care Corners in Markets to Reduce Unpaid Care Work for Vulnerable Businesswomen in Uganda, the APRI project aims to offer sustainable interventions that could free vulnerable businesswomen from the constraints of unpaid care work.
Unpaid care work refers to unremunerated domestic tasks like childcare, housework, and community service, primarily seen as women’s responsibilities in many societies.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 16.4 billion hours are spent on unpaid care work daily worldwide, with women bearing the majority of this load.
One of the most notable impacts of the APRI project towards challenging these norms has been its success in changing the discourse around unpaid care work in Uganda.
Through strategic engagements with officials from the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development and religious and cultural leaders, there is a growing recognition of the need to reduce the burden of unpaid care work on women.
These stakeholders have expressed their support for providing access to childcare services and integrating UCW considerations into their programming.
For instance, the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development has suggested incorporating unpaid care work considerations into frameworks like the Culture Policy, the National Family Strengthening Program, and a male parenting engagement strategy.
As an example of this change, during a high-level policy dialogue in 2024, the Minister for Gender, Labour, and Social Development committed to championing childcare across the government to showcase the government’s commitment to reducing the burden of unpaid childcare.
Similarly, religious and cultural leaders have acknowledged the benefits of reducing unpaid care work for women, particularly in enhancing household welfare. Cultural and religious norms often perpetuate unequal allocation of care responsibilities.
However, APRI’s engagements with these influential groups have yielded promising results. Religious and cultural leaders now advocate for shared parenting responsibilities and the inclusion of childcare in community development agendas.
APRI’s strategy hinges on evidence-based advocacy. A key development was the Rapid Assessment of the Socio-economic Effects of COVID-19 on Businesswomen in Greater Kampala. The findings highlighted how deep-seated norms around unpaid care work persisted even during the pandemic lockdown.
Two policy briefs emerged from this research: the burden of unpaid care work and excluding women-led businesses from economic recovery interventions. These briefs have informed discussions with policymakers and other stakeholders, enabling targeted advocacy.
The briefs provide insights into the factors perpetuating the unequal distribution, such as cultural and religious norms, women’s education levels, and their contributions to household income.
The research also indicates that women become more efficient at work when childcare responsibilities are reduced, allowing them to focus on productive tasks without interference.
One innovative solution proposed by the APRI project to free businesswomen from the burden of unpaid childcare is the establishment of parenting care corners in markets.
According to the researchers, these care corners provide affordable childcare services to vulnerable businesswomen, freeing up their time for paid employment. The success of these Parenting Care Corners has sparked interest among other stakeholders in scaling up such interventions.
