The childcare shortfalls in Asia and the Pacific are threatening gender equality with the sector already considered "highly feminized" across the region, according to a new report.

The study, "Investments in childcare for gender equality in Asia and the Pacific", is a collaborative research by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.

It looked at 48 economies across Asia and the Pacific where the provision of childcare remains patchy, with limited access, affordability and quality, impacting women's participation in the workforce.

Based on its findings, the study recommended diversifying childcare modalities, eliminating disparities in access, and strengthening evidence-based investments in childcare through mapping and monitoring.

In terms of affordability, it recommended undertaking regular analysis and budget audits of costs for families and childcare providers, minimizing low-income parents' out-of-pocket expenses and building system coherence for childcare sector funding, monitoring, evaluation and support.

To uphold quality, it recommended establishing, implementing and measuring the quality of childcare services, modifying parents' perceptions of quality through the effective implementation of quality standards, and providing childcare services that integrate the needs of rural, indigenous and tribal communities.

Childcare monitoring should be done periodically and improve coordination, and ensure childcare workers' right to organization, representation and voice.

In strengthening decent work for caregivers, the study noted, policies must recognize all childcare workers as workers, and improve legal frameworks and implementation. The policies must also establish national standards and operating procedures for decent working conditions and remuneration through social dialogue, with social protection covering all childcare workers and inclusive skills development, including the accreditation and the upskilling of workers.

The study's assessment of childcare policies and services, released on Aug 1, was conducted against four key principles of accessibility, affordability, quality, and decent work conditions for childcare workers.

In terms of accessibility, it noted that even where subsidies exist, high out-of-pocket costs remain, for example, for transport, books and materials, meals and enrolment fees, which are being driven up further by the rising cost of living. This poses a significant challenge to parents seeking childcare and often deter mothers from entering the workforce, the report said.

Although resources exist for both childcare providers and users, access is hampered by challenges in navigating the highly fragmented and multi-layered childcare funding landscape, compounded by a lack of awareness about these provisions, it added.

The report also found that the general lack of the statutory right to childcare is a major reason for the absence of childcare systems across the region. Children under the age of 2 are the most under-served, with mothers "generally obligated to exit the workforce to care for this age group due to a lack of other options".

Children with disabilities have particularly compromised access to childcare, and socio-economic inequalities and the rural-urban divide are key determinants of childcare accessibility. Caste and language "form another axis of exclusion".

The findings also revealed that the labor of caring for children under 6 years old falls disproportionately on women in their capacity as mothers. This "gendered division of childcare" affects women's ability to participate in social, economic and political domains of public life, "affecting labor force participation".

"While childcare is simply one of many unpaid care activities that hinder women's meaningful participation in public life – including, for instance, elder care and housework, among others – its implications for women's economic participation are particularly acute," the report said.

Further, childbirth "often forces women out of the labor force at a formative and crucial time in their careers".

The study noted that the Asia Pacific is the only region in the world where women's labor force participation is decreasing, falling from 49.9 percent in 2005 to 44.1 percent in 2019.

The gap in labor force participation between women and men is widest in South Asia, at 54 percentage points, narrower in East Asia at 16 percent, and relatively low in the Pacific at 9 percent.

Regarding quality childcare, even where standards do exist, there are gaps in terms of monitoring and enforcing these standards. There is also a mismatch between qualification requirements and role-specific, practice-based learning and training in competencies crucial for childcare, and that the childcare sector "remains highly feminized" and undervalued.

Wages also vary widely and "are well below average and are often below the poverty level", the study noted. Childcare workers have low levels of job security, employment benefits, and social protection. The sector is also marked by low overall levels of collectivization, bargaining power and voice.