Projects

location_on Benin, Togo

Supporting evidence-informed policymaking on unpaid care work for intergenerational equity in Togo and Benin

Traditional gender norms in many African countries assign women the primary responsibility for unpaid care and domestic work (UCDW), which is essential for family and community wellbeing. However, it is often undervalued in policy decisions, perpetuating economic inequality and gender stereotypes. This project seeks to inform care policies in Benin and Togo, responding to the […]

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location_on Côte d’Ivoire

Using improved cookstoves to reduce the burden of domestic work for rural women in Côte d’Ivoire

In Côte d’Ivoire, as in most sub-Saharan African countries, the responsibility for unpaid care work falls disproportionately on women and girls, leaving them less time for education, leisure and economic activities. Women typically spend more time cooking, collecting fuel and water, cleaning and caring for children, the ill and the elderly. Rural women are particularly […]

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location_on Zimbabwe

#WeCareForHer Equality Project

Zimbabwe’s devolution agenda, which involves transferring decision-making from central government to local authorities, provides an opportunity for the country to update its policies on unpaid care and domestic work. A coalition of women’s rights and civil society organizations is informing policymakers, conducting research and engaging citizens in law-making to support policy changes that prioritize the […]

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location_on Kenya

Availing Affordable and Accessible Childcare in Market Centers in Kenya

In Kenya, the disproportionate share of unpaid caregiving done by women poses a barrier to their participation in the informal workforce. Women with children under 6 face intensified caregiving responsibilities, exacerbated by a lack of child-friendly spaces in urban workplaces. In a country where 80% of informal vendors are women, the need to provide services […]

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location_on Rwanda

Engaging Men for Care Equality – Scaling Bandebereho in Rwanda

Despite a strong policy environment on gender equality in Rwanda, women typically perform 75% of household unpaid care work. The unequal burden is fuelled by rigid gender norms that ascribe care work to women. This has profound implications for women and girls. It impedes their education and access to paid work, limits leisure time and […]

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location_on Sierra Leone

Freetown Caring City

Unpaid caregiving in Sierra Leone significantly hampers gender equity, particularly in Freetown, where women and girls bear a disproportionate burden within households. Due to the time-intensive nature of caregiving responsibilities, women work 1.6 times more than men, encompassing both paid and unpaid work. This time-poverty restricts their opportunities for education, well-being, and economic advancement, while […]

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location_on Burundi

Women-led Empowerment – Catalyzing Actions and Responsibilities for Equality

Belle Colline is a rural community development model tested in Burundi that seeks to empower women and girls, eradicate gender-based violence and promote economic opportunities. WE-CARE is extending this model to emphasize recognizing, redistributing and reducing unpaid care work by engaging men in care work, supporting local women’s associations, and community action planning. Gender norms […]

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location_on Kenya

Enhancing and Scaling up Impacts of a Social-Franchise Model of Daycare Centres to Reduce Effects of Unpaid Care Work

In Nairobi’s informal settlements, women shoulder a heavy load of unpaid care work. They spend about five hours a day on primary care tasks, with a significant portion of this involving the care of young children. In the absence of extended family support systems and with limited access to formal day care, low-income mothers must […]

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location_on Kenya

Catalyzing care innovations in marginalized and vulnerable communities of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid land

Women and girls in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid care work, spending significantly more time than men and boys on activities such as childcare, cooking and cleaning. This inequality limits their access to education and employment, perpetuating cycles of poverty, ill health and gender-based violence. Aga Khan University research […]

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location_on Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa

Transforming elder care through collective policy action in Southern Africa

Southern Africa has one of the largest and fastest-growing elderly populations in Africa. In some areas, men and women who reach the age of 60 can expect to live an additional 17 and 20 years, respectively. However, older adults often face multiple health issues, and their care is primarily managed by families, and by women […]

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