Working moms with young children usually have a lot to deal with. Especially first-time mothers. Taking care of the little ones while remaining on top of their career performance can be tasking. Apart from family support, they also need the same from their employers, in the form of childcare support.
According to a report by IFC, companies that offer childcare benefits for their employees stand to benefit from improved recruitment, retention, and productivity of workers. Childcare support is most effective when companies assess their employees to determine what kind of assistance best suits the needs of each one.
The report is titled Tackling Childcare: The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare. A number of firms are profiled in this report, one of the most notable being Safaricom. Kenya’s leading telco has been hailed for offering childcare support for both male and female workers. Some of the benefits include breastfeeding rooms, maternity leave beyond statutory provision, on-site crèches for younger children, medical insurance policies that include children, and on-site doctors at the workplace.
Steve Chege, Director – Corporate Affairs at Safaricom explains that this program is aimed at reducing the disruption and costs associated with replacing women leaving the workforce to raise families. Safaricom goes beyond supporting working mothers. They offer training to female employees at all levels with strong leadership traits.
The IFC report shows that childcare- offering firms experience lower staff turnover, have shorter vacancy periods, and improve the quality of applicants.As regards workers, childcare support enhances motivation and commitment, reduces absenteeism, and improves gender diversity since women are able to advance in leadership positions.
Children under such programs are more likely to be healthier, have better performance in school and grow up to become all-round productive adults. Everybody wins.
The report was developed by IFC’s strategic partners: the International Labour Organization, Care.com, Kidogo, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, UN Women, the UN Global Compact among others.
