Report calls for more childcare services at companies to improve productivity

AMMAN — Companies in Jordan can help increase their employees’ productivity, reduce employee turnover, improve gender diversity and support the advancement of women into leadership positions by providing childcare services for their employees, according to a report released today by the IFC, the private sector branch of the World Bank Group.

The report, titled “Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare” comes amid rising global recognition among policymakers about the business and development impact of childcare. 

In 11 of the 50 economies examined by the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law project, employers are legally required to support or provide childcare. Even in the absence of regulatory compliance, many employers are looking to offer childcare support and achieve better business outcomes. 

In Jordan, the case study of the childcare centre “MAS Kreeda Al Safi-Madaba” showed how the centre contributes to improving workforce stability through reduced absenteeism and improved retention. It also helps ensure a high production rate, and reinforces the company’s reputation within the local community, according to the report. 

Commenting on the report, Ahmad Awad, director of the Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies, said businesses in Jordan that employe 20 women or more are obligated by law to provide childcare facilities and services to their employees.

Providing childcare services contributes to ensuring increased women participation in the Jordanian economy, he noted.

“The percentage of women participation in the Jordanian economy stands at 18 per cent at present. This is one of the lowest in the world and providing childcare service and facilities for women encourages them to work,” Awad told The Jordan Times.

“Many women quit their job when they get married in Jordan, but the number of those working women who quit is even higher especially when they have kids. When working women have children, they prefer to raise their kids at home instead of working as they cannot afford working while sending their kids to private childcare centres, which have high fees,” he added.

Although the Labour Law in Jordan makes the creation of childcare centres for women obligatory, abidance by the law is “fluid”, he said.

“There is a need for better enforcement of the law to ensure that women feel comfortable when going to work, which helps boost their loyalty to the workplace, productivity and performance,” Awad added.

Hala, a 25-year-old IT staff who works at an international NGO in Shmeisani, said she thought of quitting her job after she gave birth a few months ago.

“I send my child every day to my mother’s house so she can take care of him until I finish work. My salary is JD500 and it does not make sense to pay for a childcare centre as their prices are high. It is tiring to drive from my house to my mother’s to drop my son then to work every day,” she explained.

“I wish we had a childcare facility at our NGO. I would then have no problem spending more time at work. It is very hard to manage all this,” she told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

Nena Stoiljkovic, vice president of Blended Finance and Partnerships at IFC, said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times: “Without a fully equal work participation of women and men, no country, community, or economy can achieve its potential or meet the challenges of the 21st century.”

The case studies in the report showed that employers that offer childcare reported a substantial reduction in employee turnover, an improvement in the quality of applicants and the speed at which vacancies can be filled. They also cited increased productivity through reduced absences, greater focus, and enhanced motivation and commitment, as well as improved gender diversity and advancement of women into leadership positions.

Better and affordable childcare services are increasingly seen as a critical driver of economic growth. When working mothers and fathers participate equally in the workforce, they are more likely to increase their household incomes, and have a greater impact on the growth of companies and economies, according to the report. 

In addition, children with access to early-childhood education and care are healthier, perform better in school, and become more productive adults, the report concluded.