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Conference - Global Need for Formal Child Care

Conference background; Conference details; Conference program; Relevant papers; Videos of conference presentations; GrOW initiative; GrOW funders; Project partners

Conference background

The need for formal child care is becoming a pressing global challenge. Dramatic economic changes have seen unprecedented rates of women participating in paid market work across the world. However, this fundamental transition in how women organize their lives has not been met by an equally dramatic transition in how children are cared for. Consequently, women across the globe are faced with tough choices regarding the trade-offs between work, personally caring for their children and using often substandard alternative child care arrangements. With much effort focused on improving work opportunities for women, policy efforts regarding child care have lagged.

This mini-conference will bring together stakeholders and scholars to focus on the tensions between women’s work and child care, particularly as they relate to formal child care and women’s outcomes. The conference program includes the presentation of twelve (12) research papers from demography, economics, epidemiology, sociology, and policy studies. The event will also highlight policy implications of research findings, featuring a panel of practitioners and policy-makers from Canadian and international NGOs and research centers. This conference will be relevant for academics, policy-makers, and practitioners at local and international levels.

Conference details

Date: Friday, August 11 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Location: McGill University, Ballroom (3rd floor), Thomson House, (3650 McTavish Street, Montreal, Québec, H3A 1Y2), Montreal, Québec
Conference Organizers: Professors Shelley Clark, Director, Centre on Population Dynamics and Professor, Department of Sociology, and Sarah Brauner-Otto, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology

The conference is organized as part of the GrOW project Improving childcare options to create better economic opportunities for women in Nairobi slums.

Conference program

Final conference program 2017-08-09-gnffcc-program-final.pdf

Relevant Papers

APHRC GrOW project website - briefs and papers

GrOW Research Series - Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University. Working papers, Briefs, and Research Bulletins

The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development. Global report on equality and early childhood. cgglobal-fullreport.pdf

Conference Videos

Coming soon!

Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW)

Women around the world increasingly participate in economic activities, but they continue to face significant challenges in pursuing better paid, productive jobs, and in accumulating assets. These challenges include deeply rooted restrictive social norms that limit their choices and access to opportunities, and the lack of recognition and value given to their dual roles as caregivers and breadwinners. There is a lack of knowledge about how best to overcome many of these challenges.

The Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) program aims to fill that gap, providing evidence that can inform social and economic policies to improve poor women’s lives, while promoting economic growth. This CA$17.5 million, 5-year program launched in June 2013 aims to generate new knowledge about women’s economic empowerment, gender equality, and economic growth in low-income countries. The GrOW project portfolio funds 14 research projects in 50 countries around the world. GrOW works with research teams to strengthen research capacities, and promote research use by decision-makers.