Complex Decisions between Care and Paid Work : A Qualitative Study on the Demand for Childcare Services in Mexico City

This study aims to improve the understanding of the barriers and enabling factors determining the demand for childcare in Mexico City. The study is based on focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews with mothers and fathers (marrie...

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Main Authors: Muller, Miriam, Jaen, Martha
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/770331603735024640/Complex-Decisions-between-Care-and-Paid-Work-A-Qualitative-Study-on-the-Demand-for-Childcare-Services-in-Mexico-City
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34685
id okr-10986-34685
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-346852022-09-20T00:12:05Z Complex Decisions between Care and Paid Work : A Qualitative Study on the Demand for Childcare Services in Mexico City Muller, Miriam Jaen, Martha CHILDCARE FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION GENDER UNPAID WORK UNPAID FAMILY WORKER POVERTY INEQUALITY LABOR POLICY This study aims to improve the understanding of the barriers and enabling factors determining the demand for childcare in Mexico City. The study is based on focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews with mothers and fathers (married or living in a union) of children ages zero to six years. The findings of this qualitative analysis confirm that for parents in Mexico City, decisions in favor of or against the use of childcare are based on: (1) the interplay between women's aspirations, the role of work in their lives, and the additional support they have; and (2) their perceptions of the care available, including convenience, overall quality, perceived opportunities for positive child development, and financial and non-financial costs (safety and risks to the child’s well-being). The findings suggest that significant differences exist between women with higher education and those with lower levels of education living in different parts of the city (and from different socioeconomic backgrounds: middle-class vis-a-vis vulnerable women). The observed gaps are due to differences in their ability to make informed choices, their aspirations and work opportunities, the alternative support options available to them, and their ability to adapt to the childcare supply. These results highlight the relevance of: (1) promoting a more balanced distribution of childcare responsibilities between men and women; (2) communicating more transparently the benefits of using childcare services and the measures taken to ensure the safety and positive development of children; and (3) adapting the childcare centers' functioning to the needs of working parents. 2020-10-29T13:21:57Z 2020-10-29T13:21:57Z 2020-10 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/770331603735024640/Complex-Decisions-between-Care-and-Paid-Work-A-Qualitative-Study-on-the-Demand-for-Childcare-Services-in-Mexico-City http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34685 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9452 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Latin America & Caribbean Mexico
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic CHILDCARE
FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
GENDER
UNPAID WORK
UNPAID FAMILY WORKER
POVERTY
INEQUALITY
LABOR POLICY
spellingShingle CHILDCARE
FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
GENDER
UNPAID WORK
UNPAID FAMILY WORKER
POVERTY
INEQUALITY
LABOR POLICY
Muller, Miriam
Jaen, Martha
Complex Decisions between Care and Paid Work : A Qualitative Study on the Demand for Childcare Services in Mexico City
geographic_facet Latin America & Caribbean
Mexico
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9452
description This study aims to improve the understanding of the barriers and enabling factors determining the demand for childcare in Mexico City. The study is based on focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews with mothers and fathers (married or living in a union) of children ages zero to six years. The findings of this qualitative analysis confirm that for parents in Mexico City, decisions in favor of or against the use of childcare are based on: (1) the interplay between women's aspirations, the role of work in their lives, and the additional support they have; and (2) their perceptions of the care available, including convenience, overall quality, perceived opportunities for positive child development, and financial and non-financial costs (safety and risks to the child’s well-being). The findings suggest that significant differences exist between women with higher education and those with lower levels of education living in different parts of the city (and from different socioeconomic backgrounds: middle-class vis-a-vis vulnerable women). The observed gaps are due to differences in their ability to make informed choices, their aspirations and work opportunities, the alternative support options available to them, and their ability to adapt to the childcare supply. These results highlight the relevance of: (1) promoting a more balanced distribution of childcare responsibilities between men and women; (2) communicating more transparently the benefits of using childcare services and the measures taken to ensure the safety and positive development of children; and (3) adapting the childcare centers' functioning to the needs of working parents.
format Working Paper
author Muller, Miriam
Jaen, Martha
author_facet Muller, Miriam
Jaen, Martha
author_sort Muller, Miriam
title Complex Decisions between Care and Paid Work : A Qualitative Study on the Demand for Childcare Services in Mexico City
title_short Complex Decisions between Care and Paid Work : A Qualitative Study on the Demand for Childcare Services in Mexico City
title_full Complex Decisions between Care and Paid Work : A Qualitative Study on the Demand for Childcare Services in Mexico City
title_fullStr Complex Decisions between Care and Paid Work : A Qualitative Study on the Demand for Childcare Services in Mexico City
title_full_unstemmed Complex Decisions between Care and Paid Work : A Qualitative Study on the Demand for Childcare Services in Mexico City
title_sort complex decisions between care and paid work : a qualitative study on the demand for childcare services in mexico city
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2020
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/770331603735024640/Complex-Decisions-between-Care-and-Paid-Work-A-Qualitative-Study-on-the-Demand-for-Childcare-Services-in-Mexico-City
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34685
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