Fostering childcare to enable female labor force participation in Bhutan

In Bhutan’s capital Thimphu, 29-year-old Zumzang Zumzang has a childcare challenge. She is the mother of two young children (ages 2 and 5). Both Zumzang and her husband work, with Zumzang serving as a finance officer at a nearby NGO. Although she has managed to find a local private daycare center for her 5-year-old, the high costs and distance from her home and work make it difficult for her to continue using the facility, and she has no childcare options for her 2-year-old. Zumzang’s husband is supportive, and her niece helps out with childcare during winter vacation. Nevertheless, these difficulties weigh heavily on Zumzang and impede her ability to do her job. As a result, she and her husband are delaying plans for another child.

The Landscape in Bhutan

Despite improvements in employment policies, a striking gender disparity exists in Bhutan’s labor force. As of 2023, only 56.8% of women were in the labor force, compared to 72.4% of men. While this gap is smaller than that of other South Asian and lower-middle-income countries, family responsibilities, particularly childcare, disproportionately affect women’s entry into the workforce and limit their access to well-paying jobs.

Although the fertility rate declined from 6 children per woman in 1985 to 1.4 in 2021, ensuring quality childcare remains a challenge. Only 10.4% of new mothers receive the entitled two months of paid maternity leave, highlighting a critical gap in support. Couples like Zumzang and her husband opt for smaller families due to these challenges. Proactive measures are needed to strengthen childcare infrastructure and support to help reverse the significant decline in fertility rates. The new government has pledged a monetary incentive for the third and subsequent child to address the declining population due to low ferticility and increased migration. However, further strategic investments in childcare are necessary as traditional family support decreases with aging family members.

The Royal Government of Bhutan recognizes the importance of expanding access to quality services to support early childhood development. It has an ambitious agenda to universalize access to publicly provided early childhood care and development (ECCD) centers for 3- to 5-year-olds by 2028. Good progress has been made in providing access to these ECCD centers for children, with an increase from just 9% in 2014 to 38.6% in 2022. The government also has a good professional development program for ECCD facilitators and plans to introduce a bachelor's program.

These ECCD Centers are often low-cost establishments with a consistent schedule and high parental involvement. Parents' contributions of play and learning materials, often handmade or repurposed items, are a testament to the community's engagement.

Daily schedule and educational resources used at an ECCD Center in Paro.

At the same time, over 60% of Bhutan’s children still don’t have access, with a significant gap between urban and rural areas. The government plans to increase center-based ECCD programs and implement more flexible mobile- and home-based ECCD for geographically remote populations. Such initiatives could help bridge the childcare gap, as even half-day preschool programs have been shown to increase women’s economic participation.

The role of the private sector in childcare provision

For children under 3, childcare solutions are mostly absent. While workplace creches are encouraged, only 11 such facilities are operational. Some private childcare centers provide care for 0-2 year-olds, but the number is small and there are no binding regulations for quality and safety standards or for workforce training. There is also a lack of training for childcare workers in workplace creches and privately provided ECCD centers, which undermines children's well-being and compromises the quality. Enacting childcare laws can increase women’s labor force participation by up to 4% five years after enactment, emphasizing the benefits of such legal frameworks.

Sonam Dorji, a private childcare provider for children above 3 years, and mother of three young kids, acknowledges inadequacies in the current system for private providers.  

Expanding childcare access

Building on its ambitious investment in ECCD, Bhutan has an opportunity to expand access to childcare by establishing the right standards and regulations to create safe and nurturing spaces for children and thereby enable more mothers to work. Here are just a few of these potential opportunities:

• Availability of Childcare:  Enhancing childcare availability is essential for supporting vulnerable women and their inclusion in the labor market. The World Bank’s Better Jobs and Brighter Futures report suggests various strategies, such as extending existing ECCD center hours to better meet working women's schedules, incentivizing private sector provision through set-up grants and subsidies, and by expanding publicly provided ECCD centers for the 0-2 age group. Transportation subsidies for low-income women can improve childcare access in the short term, but convenience, safety, and flexibility concerns may persist. Establishing nearby childcare options can be a sustainable solution. Clear, actionable childcare laws can facilitate market entry for private providers.
• Affordability of Childcare: The high childcare costs deter mothers like Zumzang from participating in the labor market. Bhutan can explore gender-sensitive policies to reduce childcare costs, providing financial support to parents or supporting private providers. Regulations for government financial or non-financial support to parents and providers could improve the enabling environment for providing childcare services for low-income or vulnerable families.
• Quality of Childcare: Strategic investments in high-quality childcare positively influence children's development outcomes and encourage parents to enroll their children. Further efforts can be made to make sure that the minimum standards apply to childcare for children under the age of 3 and trainings are accessible to private providers. Robust childcare regulation can ensure a secure environment for children, thereby fostering widespread uptake and contributing to improved nutrition and school readiness.

This blog was written to coincide with the release of the Women, Business and the Law 2024 report which provides insights into childcare legislation in 190 economies, helping governments create legal frameworks that empower working mothers and families. Female labor force participation remains a challenge in Bhutan and across South Asia.

Learn more about the World Bank's #ClearHerPath campaign to boost women’s participation in the workforce in South Asia: www.worldbank.org/clearherpath.