Although many strides have been made towards gender equality, without gender-responsive provision of public services and goods, the wealth of cities will remain out of reach for many. Gender-responsive delivery of public services supports the inclusion, empowerment and productivity of workers and firms in the city. By addressing gender-specific needs, such approaches have the potential to trigger social empowerment, and ultimately, more equitable economic development in cities.
Despite all this, public service delivery in many cities continues to be gender blind, undermining the economic opportunities available to women. Some cities, however, are recognizing the importance of promoting gender equality and realizing the benefits of gender responsiveness.
Mobile Creches is one such gender-responsive public service provided in the city of New Delhi. Established in 1969, Mobile Creches provide childcare services to the migrant workers on construction sites in India. The project has expanded its operations across nine states in India, reached 750,000 children, trained more than 6,500 childcare workers and established 650 day-care centres. It has a significant impact on the lives of women workers who account for 35 percent of the labour force. With the childcare facilities provided by Mobile Creche, their unpaid childcare time is freed up, time poverty reduced, and incomes raised.
The Joint Work Programme for Equitable Economic Growth in Cities is delighted to organise a webinar discussion with speakers from Mobile Creche Delhi, to present practices and achievements of this initiative as well as analyse the broader impacts of the provision of quality childcare services on social inclusion and equitable economic development in Delhi and other cities.
