The Impact of Free Childcare Services on Women’s Economic Opportunities: A Case Study in Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Abstract: While Costa Rica is a country with many impressive social and economic achievements, women in the country are still struggling to participate in and contribute to the economy. The disproportionate share of childcare responsibilities that women in the country often bear, are hindering them from achieving work opportunities and attaining higher educational levels. This qualitative case study has analysed the impact of the free childcare services provided by the National Network for Childcare and Development (Red Nacional de Cuido y Desarrollo Infantil, REDCUDI) on women’s work and educational opportunities in Costa Rica. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted in field in the province Guanacaste, at the non-profit organisation CEPIA which is part of the REDCUDI, to gain an in-depth understanding of mother beneficiaries’ experiences of the free childcare services. Interviews were also conducted with care workers at CEPIA and a social worker at the Technical Secretariat of the REDCUDI, to gain a more general perspective of the relationship between free childcare and women’s economic opportunities in Costa Rica. The results from the case study show that the free childcare services have had a positive impact on the likelihood of working among the mother beneficiaries. Accessing non-parental formal childcare has replaced mothers’ previous use of informal childcare, offering their children a more reliable and safer environment to be cared in. Consequently, mothers who previously had to stay at home to care for their children have more time available to work and to earn an income. For, mothers who previously had to work more than eight hours per day to afford childcare, the access to free childcare has meant that they have more time to spend with their children. While the free childcare has improved mothers’ work opportunities, the findings show that no mother had pursued education after accessing the services. This implies that achieving the educational objective of the REDCUDI is more challenging than enabling mothers to work. Ensuring that women can achieve higher educational levels and develop their human capital is, however, equally important to improve their future employment and income prospects. This implies that the free childcare services should be accompanied by services or policies which make education more attractive and affordable for poor and economically vulnerable mothers in Costa Rica.