Colombo Sri Lanka (Commonwealth Union)_In a study conducted by Verité Research and Australian Aid on the costs of doing a job for urban women in Sri Lanka, a not surprising revelation was that safe and affordable childcare was one of the primary reasons that keeps women out of the formal labour force. Sri Lanka’s strikingly low Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP) hindered not just increasing the labour force but also a sustainable one.
Sri Lanka has the 13th largest gender gap in labour force participation in the world according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022 with FLFP at a strikingly low 31.8 percent compared to 71 percent of males in formal paid work. While Sri Lanka dropped four positions since 2021, in the last decade, the FLFP rate has been spiraling downward, although this is a direct contravention of women having good access and perform well in education. Women make up 64 percent of total enrolments in state universities and outperform their male counterparts at all levels. But these educational achievements are not translating into tangible economic outcomes.
The study surveyed 661 women between twenty and fifty years of age in urban areas in the Western Province, with most startling revelation being that for every LKR 100 earned by women, the cost a woman will incur in doing a job outside their home is LKR 160. A crucial cost factor inhibiting women from joining the formal labour force wazs the lack of affordable, reliable and safe childcare services.
Being the primary caregiver and doing a disproportionate share of unpaid care work amounting to 2.5 times more than men do, if women have no family support, they have no choice but to stay home. Culturally, there is widespread hesitancy in placing children in childcare and even if childcare is available, the lack of affordability is a barrier.
While there are no legal or regulatory measures adopted by governments on strengthening childcare, Singapore as case in point is worth observing. Singapore went to the root of the problem, thinking smart and inclusive. Policies introduced were based not just on ensuring gender inclusivity but rather on maximising the contribution each citizen, irrespective of gender. This led to regulating childcare, introducing standards and policies that gave women peace of mind and the freedom to get to work without removing a large slice of their income.
The recommendations laid out in the National Guidelines for Child Daycare Centers in Sri Lanka is to be adopted into Sri Lanka’s legal framework with oversight personnel who will be responsible for the implementation and compliance of the framework. It aims to develop a national registry detailing registered childcare centers, incorporate web platforms and online aids while also providing financial and non-financial incentives and support for families using daycare centers.
The three main reasons Sri Lanka should prioritise implementing policy to increase FLFP is the quantifiable evidence that USD 20 billion could be added to the country’s economy by 2025 – this is according to a McKinsey Report. Secondly, given that most of these women are beneficiaries of state-funded education, there will be a tangible return on investment to the state when women contribute to the economy. Thirdly, with work comes increased financial independence and this contributes to the long term social cohesion leading to better bargaining power within the household and greater autonomy. The underlying factor is that with Sri Lankan households experiencing sharp increases in the cost of living in the last year, having more FLFP will augment household income.
