HOW A DAYCARE ISMAKING EDUCATIONPOSSIBLE FORMOTHERS IN JORDANTHE STORY OF SONDAS BASHIRI

ach day,  Sondas Bashiri, 24 years old, attends the Vocational Training Corporation(VTC) in her hometown of Irbid, Jordan. Here,she is enrolled in a Medical Office Assistant(MOA) program, learning skills that will equipher to work in administration for the medicalfield.  Before she enters the center, Sondas drops her16-month old son, Kareem, in the care ofqualified caregivers, trained in Early ChildcareDevelopment (ECD).  This facility is one of theWomen’s Economic Linkages and EmploymentDevelopment (WE LEAD) project’s pilotedstrategies to address one of several gender-specific barriers that Jordanian women facewhen entering the workforce - a lack of qualitychildcare facilities. This project is funded byGlobal Affairs Canada (GAC) and implementedthrough a consortium between the WorldUniversity Service of Canada (WUSC) and theCanadian Leaders in International Consulting(CLIC). Prior to this, Sondas worked as a school teacher.This was not because she desired the  job, butbecause her family encouraged her to since itwas deemed an acceptable career for a woman.After getting married and having a child, shedecided to pursue  a career path that she hadmore interest in. Wanting to improve thecustomer service she saw in hospitals afterexperiencing impoliteness from thereceptionists, the MOA program appealed toher. However, attending school while tending to ayoung child is extremely difficult, and Sondaswas unsure at first if she would be able to enrollin the MOA program; her only options forchildcare were overcrowded and expensiveprivate daycares, or leaving Kareem with hergrandmother, who is very old.

E

FINDING APPROPRIATECHILDCARE: A BARRIER FORWOMEN ENTERING THEWORKFORCE

“I thought that I could not take this program, 

Sondas brings Kareem to the VTC Daycare / VTC, Iribd

because I needed to find a good place for myson,” Sondas explained.

I thought that I could nottake this program,because I needed to finda good place for my son.

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WE LEAD'S SOLUTION:PILOTING CHILDCAREFACILITIES

Culturally, it is the responsibility of women inJordan to look after their children: ofwomen choose not to work because they wouldrather care for their children. Without access toadequate child care facilities, it makes it verydifficult for them to even consider pursuingwork. Additionally, there is a low level of trust amongstparents with existing daycares. With a lack oftheoretical and practical competencies fromcaregivers, the recurrence of caregiver’s violenceand health negligence, parents are oftenreluctant to leave their children in such care. Furthermore, even if one manages to find asuitable daycare for their child, it is difficult tofind secure transportation to and from work orschool, without adding a trip to daycare in themix. In line with this, WE LEAD targets lack oftransportation options, another gender specifc

Fortunately for Sondas, she learned that adaycare had recently opened at the VTC. She wasexcited to see it, and was highly impressed withthe facility: it was clean, secure, comfortable, andit had attentive caregivers. It was the perfectsolution - Kareem could come with her to theVTC and stay in the daycare while she took herclasses. Fulfilling the ambitions of women like Sondas isexactly the intention of the WE LEAD project’stwo piloted daycare’s - including the one at theIrbid VTC center and another at Istishari Hospital

Sondas checks on Kareem while he is playing games that will help him to develop his capacity and ability. / VTC, Iribid

37 percent

barrier that women face when entering theworkforce.

http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/859411541448063088/pdf/ACS25170-PUBLIC-FULL-REPORT-Jordan-Social-Norms-June-1-2018-with-titlepg.pdf

THE ROAD AHEAD: CHANGINGSOCIAL NORMS

Ultimately, social norms are the root cause ofthe barriers to women’s economicempowerment in Jordan. Social norms dictatethat women should stay at home, that theyshould be the primary caregivers in thehousehold, and that it is their responsibility tocare for their children.  This is why WE LEAD strives to not only bringabout the practical solution of daycares, butalso to raise awareness about the issue on abroader level. Without understanding ofwomen’s economic empowerment at a

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(a private hospital). This initiative is beingimplemented in partnership with the VTCs andthe National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA). For women with children, having a daycare thatis safe, affordable, and accessible is key. In Sondas’ experience, having access to adaycare at the VTC has been of immense value. While she is in class, Kareem plays happily in thedaycare. “I check on him all the time, and he is playingand discovering new things...he plays games thatbuild his ability and capacity” she says. In Jordan, the benefits of enrolling one’s child ina quality daycare with trained caregivers stillremain largely unknown to the population.Quality daycares enable children to develop newskills and engage with their peers, enhancingtheir personal development. The caregivers aretrained in ECD, meaning that they are qualifiedand knowledgeable to take care of youngchildren and help them build their capacity. With the successful implementation of thesefacilities, the VTCs and private sector institutionswill see the benefits of providing child care fortheir female workers. Not only will it increaseretention of their female  employees, but it willalso increase staff satisfaction and thus improvecustomers overall experience.

household, community, and national level, itwould be difficult to achieve long-lasting change. With these piloted daycares, the WE LEADProject aspires to encourage other organizationsto replicate this model in order to increaseeconomic empowerment for women.  Theproject targets women who would not havebeen able to enroll in educational programs orwork, without childcare facilities. Across Jordan,there are many women such as Sondas whohave had to put their educational or careerpursuits on hold in order to care for theirchildren. With safe, accessible, and affordabledaycare services at their places of employmentor school, more mothers in Jordan will have theopportunity to seek further education oremployment.

The Women’s Economic Linkages andEmployment Development (WE LEAD)Project (2017-2021), funded by GlobalAffairs Canada, is run in consortium withWorld University Service of Canada(WUSC) and the  Canadian InternationalConsulting Company (CLIC). This project isin partnership with the Government ofJordan, Jordanian organizations, andprivate sector institutions, seeks toincrease the number of Jordanian womenand female youth in the workforcethrough two training programs: MedicalOffice Assistance (MOA) and HealthcareSupport Worker (HSW). Additionally, theproject addresses both the gender-specificbarriers and social norms that preventwomen from entering the workforce.

Tel: + 962 6 5686825

Fax: + 962 6 5686826

wusc.ca/eumc.ca 

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