Does the use of community childcare centres contribute to greater economic empowerment of rural women? A case study from Burkina-Faso

Abstract

ABSTRACT Women devote much of their time to unpaid care work in West Africa. This situation is even more pronounced in rural areas and thus contributes to further weakening women’s economic empowerment in these areas. Setting up community childcare centres is one way of creating time for these women. This article therefore analyses the impact of the use of these centres on the economic empowerment of rural women in Burkina Faso, using the Conditional Mixed Process model. Data collected from 1546 rural households in 2022 as part of the implementation of a research project funded by the International Development Research Centre were used for the analyses. The investigations showed that the use of community childcare centres offers more opportunities for rural women to participate in economic activities or the labour market through the time saved as a result of the reduction in time spent on domestic chores. Revitalising and scaling up community childcare centres in Burkina Faso are, therefore, the main way of empowering rural women.