Labour and Employment
Policies like the minimum wage and parental leave can literally change children’s long-term outcomes in life. Poverty remains a huge barrier for too many children around the world, and it passes down generations. By improving the economic situation in the home during early childhood, children can break out of this cycle.
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Employment policy is also vital for supporting the early childhood workforce, which is suffering globally from a lack of people and training. Workforce quality and welfare is an essential component of programme success.69 Governments often focus on affordability for parents, while conditions for workers in health, childcare and preschool can suffer.70 This issue is part of a larger crisis in the economy of care. Predominantly performed by women, care work supporting young children, disabled people and the elderly around the world is underpaid and undervalued. Unpaid care work by women accounts for at least 13% of global GDP.71
Photo: Will Boase/Bernard van Leer Foundation
Employment policies often form the structures around young children, including how parents and other caregivers organise a child’s early care and education. The wellbeing of parents and families can have a significant impact on children’s physical, cognitive and social development.68
