Why Should We Care About Care? The Role of Childcare and Eldercare in Armenia
Only 56 percent of women ages 15-64 participate in the labor market, a slightly higher share than the Europe and Central Asia average, but 18 percentage points lower than the share among men in Armenia. The conflicting demand on women's time f...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/681931573219450490/Why-Should-We-Care-About-Care-The-Role-of-Childcare-and-Eldercare-in-Armenia http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32644 |
| Summary: | Only 56 percent of women ages 15-64
participate in the labor market, a slightly higher share
than the Europe and Central Asia average, but 18 percentage
points lower than the share among men in Armenia. The
conflicting demand on women's time for care and work
activities represents a fundamental barrier to economic
participation and generates a vicious circle of low labor
market attachment and prominence of the care provider role
that leads to increased vulnerability and gender-based
inequalities. International evidence shows that support for
childcare and eldercare affects women's labor market
participation. This note examines the care needs of families
with children and/or elderly household members and the
provision of formal care services in Armenia with an
emphasis on the availability, price, and quality
characteristics. Based on the analysis of an independent
mixed-methods dataset collected in several countries of
Europe and Central Asia, this note documents the perceptions
and barriers in the use of quality formal care in Armenia.
Five main messages emerge from the assessment of supply and
demand of formal childcare and eldercare in Armenia: 1)
Although social norms strongly highlight the role of women
as caregiver, there is scope for policy aimed at increasing
access and affordability of childcare and early education:
Around 24 percent of parents of children ages 0 to 5
currently not attending kindergarten report that the reason
of no attendance is lack of the service or being unable to
afford it. 2) The demand for childcare services is voiced
predominantly by parents perceiving benefits for their
child’s development and working (or willing-to-work)
mothers. 3) Use of childcare is regressive: There are
significant differences in enrollment to kindergarten and
nursery between the poorest and the richest households (12.7
and 36.4 percent respectively). A well-developed childcare
sector not only would help generating economic participation
opportunities for women but also implies potential
improvements in the school readiness for children especially
for the most vulnerable households. 4) Day-care centers and
home-based formats—if available—will be more compatible with
prevailing standards of care for the elderly. 5) Quality is
important for potential users of formal care services and
the main challenges of the existing supply involves human
resources (HR). |
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