Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare

A key barrier to female labor force participation is the lack of access to childcare. Recognizing the impact that childcare provision has on women’s employment, countries such as Brazil, India, and Jordan have unveiled policies requiring companies to provide childcare options. Even when not driven by regulatory compliance, companies can support childcare and reap business benefits. Much has been written about the need for investment in childcare, yet there is a dearth of information on what companies can do to address their employees’ childcare needs and how companies might benefit as a result.

IFC’s Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare report, released on September 27, 2017, fills that gap. It discusses how companies can analyze their workforce to identify the type of childcare support they can offer to their employees—from on-site childcare to subsidies—that best suits their needs. The report draws on 10 case studies of companies around the world offering various childcare options, highlighting how investments in employer-supported childcare can strengthen the bottom line.

A regulatory framework analysis for each country accompanies the 10 case studies. This analysis was provided by the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law, which measures laws and regulations that affect women’s economic empowerment in 173 economies around the world. WBL’s policy note highlights the regulatory framework in employer-supported childcare and private, stand-alone childcare centers in the 50 economies covered by the Tackling Childcare project.

When companies support childcare, they can hire and retain talented people, helping boost profits and productivity. Moreover, childcare provision can enable more women and men to participate in paid labor. In addition, children who have access to early childhood education and care are more likely to perform well in school and be healthier, as well as are more productive as adults. Hence, employer-supported childcare can result in a win-win situation for employees and their children, employers, and economies.

On December 12, 2018, IFC launched the first country-specific Tackling Childcare report in Sri Lanka. The report shows how 10 Sri Lankan employers provide their employees with childcare-related benefits in a variety of ways. To learn more please visit our dedicated page to Tackling Childcare in Sri Lanka. 

Download the full Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare report.

Download the Executive Summary of the Tackling Childcare report in English | Bosnian.

Please click below to download individual case studies from companies in different countries.