Projects

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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location_on Ethiopia, Kenya

Scaling innovations for reduced and redistributed women’s unpaid care work in smallholder livestock feed provision in rural Kenya and Ethiopia

Women in rural Kenya and Ethiopia shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid care work in their households. This limits their ability to take part in income-generating activities such as livestock rearing. By testing social and technological innovations aimed at reducing and redistributing care work, researchers and practitioners are creating new evidence to inform care policies […]

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location_on Benin

Scaling up an inclusive childcare policy framework for the informal sector in Benin

Women in Benin’s bustling informal sector grapple with the dual responsibilities of work and childcare, and often lack access to quality affordable childcare services. This project caters to the childcare needs of these women by addressing the policy gap and developing an inclusive childcare framework for the informal sector. Addressing informal workers’ childcare deficit Women […]

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location_on Tanzania

Scaling up innovations for reducing and redistributing women’s and girls’ unpaid care work in rural Tanzania

In rural Tanzania, women take on a disproportionate share of unpaid care work, including walking long distances to collect water. This project is scaling up proven innovations to reduce the time women spend on unpaid care work, challenge restrictive gender norms and support women’s economic empowerment. Domestic work limits women’s opportunities Women in Tanzania spend […]

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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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