On-site Childcare as women's right
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
How to Create Market-Based Strategies that Benefit Low-Income Communities competition.
An organized job market for a large number of women was created for the 1st time in Bangladesh in the early 1980's when the Ready Made Garment Industry flourished. At present 90% of an estimated 1.5m workers are women. There have been Acts & regulations adopted but most factories ignore these. Phulki advocates & lobbies international buying companies, educating on International Codes of Conduct & the consequences of buying from factories that do not follow legislation. They promote childcare facilities due to awareness being raised of the 1965 Factory act, which states that any factory employing over 50 women must provide childcare, & the consequences of violating such country law. Phulki is the only organization undertaking initiatives to build trust and communication channels between the government, the policy makers, & implementers, to promote Human Rights & Advocacy, & specifically implicating the enforcement of childcare provisions through the Factory Act of 1965. Phulki is the only organization to realize that most first generation ‘industrialists’ are unaware of the reasons for such laws & consequent benefits of complying with them. It thus began to implement what was known as factory based on- site childcare centers, where working mothers could leave their children during the daytime for a small fee. The factory owners were invited to contribute to running these centers, while some development partners assisted in the initial investments.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Your idea
Sector of activity
Education
Other sector of activity
Women's rights
On the mosaic diagram, which of these factors is the primary focus of your work?
Factor
Poor understanding of the human and social capitals of low income communities
Principle
Leverage the power of communities as both consumers and producers
98% of Phulki's employees are female, most of them are recently qualified so would not normally be given employment over a more experienced woman, however Phulki employs them in order that they can gain experience in specific areas and develop their careers as specialists.
Name Your Project
On-site Childcare as women's right
Describe Your Idea
An organized job market for a large number of women was created for the 1st time in Bangladesh in the early 1980's when the Ready Made Garment Industry flourished. At present 90% of an estimated 1.5m workers are women. There have been Acts & regulations adopted but most factories ignore these. Phulki advocates & lobbies international buying companies, educating on International Codes of Conduct & the consequences of buying from factories that do not follow legislation. They promote childcare facilities due to awareness being raised of the 1965 Factory act, which states that any factory employing over 50 women must provide childcare, & the consequences of violating such country law. Phulki is the only organization undertaking initiatives to build trust and communication channels between the government, the policy makers, & implementers, to promote Human Rights & Advocacy, & specifically implicating the enforcement of childcare provisions through the Factory Act of 1965. Phulki is the only organization to realize that most first generation ‘industrialists’ are unaware of the reasons for such laws & consequent benefits of complying with them. It thus began to implement what was known as factory based on- site childcare centers, where working mothers could leave their children during the daytime for a small fee. The factory owners were invited to contribute to running these centers, while some development partners assisted in the initial investments.
Innovation
Description of your products or services:
An organized job market for a large number of women was created for the 1st time in Bangladesh in the early 1980's when the Ready Made Garment Industry flourished. At present 90% of an estimated 1.5m workers are women. There have been Acts & regulations adopted but most factories ignore these. Phulki advocates & lobbies international buying companies, educating on International Codes of Conduct & the consequences of buying from factories that do not follow legislation. They promote childcare facilities due to awareness being raised of the 1965 Factory act, which states that any factory employing over 50 women must provide childcare, & the consequences of violating such country law. Phulki is the only organization undertaking initiatives to build trust and communication channels between the government, the policy makers, & implementers, to promote Human Rights & Advocacy, & specifically implicating the enforcement of childcare provisions through the Factory Act of 1965. Phulki is the only organization to realize that most first generation ‘industrialists’ are unaware of the reasons for such laws & consequent benefits of complying with them. It thus began to implement what was known as factory based on- site childcare centers, where working mothers could leave their children during the daytime for a small fee. The factory owners were invited to contribute to running these centers, while some development partners assisted in the initial investments.
Description of the operational model:
To bring about a change in the situation effectively Phulki began to implement factory based childcare, a maximum of 20 children per center receive ECD in a healthy environment with the mother close by. After some time of Phulki's involvement the centers can be handed to the factories to run or have Phulki as a paid consultant. From this service a need-based demand was created & supported by the Law. Through advocacy of the International buying companies who pressured the manufacturers to follow Bangladesh legislation Phulki has seen a rise in awareness of childcare issues. Legislation covering the factories of Bangladesh, but there is no such law covering Governmental sectors, such as Bangladesh Bank and Hospitals; Phulki has been employed by the Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister to conduct a survey of workplaces employing a large number of Women so that legislation can be formed and Phulki can implement the childcare facilities. Once the survey is complete, the Principal Secretary authorizes and funds Phulki’s consultancy whilst establishing the childcare center. Phulki has over 10 years experience working with various public and private sector organizations including Garment Factories and a few other organizations such as Dhaka Central Jail, Department of Women’s Affairs Under the Government of Bangladesh and BRAC and other NGO's. Personal visits & mail communication are the main methods of marketing the benefits of childcare.
Impact
Description of the financial model:
Phulki conceived an innovative approach of taking all stakeholders (parents and not just factory owners) on board. It thus implemented onsite childcare centers, where mothers pay a nominal fee & bring lunch, whil ehte factories provide space & cover other costs such as materials for ECD and caretakers wage. Since buying companies include childcare in their compliance Phulki changed their strategy from service provider to Management Consultant with a fee. For 1 month consultancy a factory pays $15 or they can contract for a year for $45, ensuring Phulki's income for a year. This pays for the wage of a supervisor who visits regularly and offers management advice. ECD materials are also sold to the factories for use in the centers; this project is consequently totally self-sustainable. We have provided childcare to other fee- paying NGO's & government organizations as well as garment factories. Phulki forms a network between the government & private organizations who set up childcare centers. The Fair Labor Association accredited Phulki to monitor factories; this is also paid work and contributes to Phulki's overhead expenditure.
Client fees represent this approximate percentage of operational budget:
35%
Key operational partnership:
Phulki have been working mainly on factory based child care centers to develop compliance, this is helped by being accredited by the Fair Labour Association & working with Companies like Reebok, Nike, Zara, Marks & Spencer. With this project Phulki has been adopted in different Banks, Hospitals, Government and Non Government offices, BGMEA, Electronics Company, Multinational Companies (BEXIMCO, Nestle, Glaxo, SQUARE) to provide the childcare centers. As a result of Phuki’s innovation, many other large public and private sector organizations are adopting the work place based childcare facilities including one at the secretariat of the Government Republic of Bangladesh. In some of these places Phulki has been invited to give consultancy services in setting up and running cr?ches. Workplace based daycare Management consultancy operations mean we work in partnership with factory owners & other employers. Our accreditation by the FLA leads us to work with them as well as with thecompliancy of the factories and the functional workers welfare committee & in partnership with H&M among other companies. Financial support & staff development comes from Danida, ActionAid, MJ,& Plan Int.
Current outreach:
We are at the Scaling Up stage. Childcare and Development Centers are located in the same locality where the workingwoman resides. The children cared for are of working women in the community, such as brick- breakers, construction-workers, and domestic help. The ages of the children are two to five years; there is a goal that the child be entered into public sector education with the help of this center at the appropriate age. In addition Phulki has helped to set up home-based centers; to strengthen the home-based centers Phulki felt that there was a great need of trained caregivers. After training in ECD by Phulki women have the opportunity to earn a living by opening home-based daycare centers with a max of 6 children/caretaker. There are currently 40 home-based centers & Phulki wishes to focus only on these 40 in order for full sustainability of the childcare & establishing ECD professionalism.
How many clients have benefited from your product/service in total? Over the last year?:
Directly 11000 children and 11000 mothers have benefited from factory and community based childcare, and many more indirectly - fathers, communities, & future generations. Childcare is an absolute known factor for the economic independence of women; additionally the children themselves receive better ECD. Both Women's and Children's rights are fulfilled, this also helps women and children to achieve their other rights - freedom of movement, and equal rights for example, through the reduced burdens of single parenthood or impoverishment. Our influence in the childcare sector reaches the whole country through changed policies and attitudes. Over the last year 100 factory- based centers are in operation each with space for 20 children. However 3000 factories in Bangladesh now have childcare, where none had childcare before Phulki started its advocacy.
What percentage of your clients is below the poverty line ($2 per day)?
90% The minimum wage in garment factories per month is approximately $13, and the maximum tends to be $30 in the export processing zone. Brick-breakers earn $1 a day, if they get work that day; housemaids earn $22 per month.
What is the order of magnitude of the potential demand for your products or services? Which other low-income groups, countries or regions could benefit from it? Try to quantify (number of clients, market size in currency).
The same factory laws apply to India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, & Sri Lanka; similar economies in these countries and others imply similar situations, in which case the Phulki model would be highly influential. Any country with Gender inequality like Bangladesh would benefit from childcare structures and advocacy as seen here. Countries with heavy urban migration and a large number of single- parent families have a need for workplace childcare. Subsequently potential demand for Phulki's services is global and not restricted to any particular country.
Scale-up strategy:
How many low-income individuals do you plan to benefit in three years from now? How are you planning to scale up or replicate your solution? What are the major constraints to scale up?
Phulki is franchising their model to other NGO’s, training them on ECD, & how to supervise & maintain the childcare centers. Phulki develops work with multinational buying companies that they comply with international codes of conduct. Under their Corporate Social Responsibility Zara asked Phulki to establishment childcare centers in all of their factories. Reebok has also contracted Phulki to ensure total compliance with their current codes of conduct. Phulki is changing Community based Childcare Centers into Home based Childcare Centers, leading to sustainable childcare. They are opened within households with a view to serve the low- income families & introduce Early Childhood Development at grassroots level; Create employment opportunities for disadvantaged women; Develop a grassroots network of non- formal specialized skilled women’s groups that serve the ECD needs of children.
Which specific areas - and why - in your field would benefit most from investment by corporations, foundations, and other investors:
Investment in Corporate Social Responsibility would be most advantageous for Phulki and it's beneficiaries because results for children and mothers are obtained when buyers and factories adhere to the international codes of contact and corporate social responsibility norms. The garment sector produces for developed countries so the corporate social responsibility lies with these countries. The ongoing effects of on-site centers are manifold and incalculable. Whilst factory-based childcare centers are fully sustainable, the community-based childcare centers are not. Mothers try to pay a monthly fee to cover half of the rent but cannot always afford it; Phulki covers the other half, sometimes more. They could be able to provide better & more ECD materials & toys; currently Phulki encourages making toys from scrap materials for the centers.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
The organization: How does the initiative fit with your overall organization's strategic goals and priorities? How did the initiative start?
Phulki's mission is to create a world where workingwomen will not have to sacrifice their children’s well being in order to achieve economic emancipation. By having childcare in working environments for mothers Phulki is fulfilling the mission to give economic emancipation to women without sacrificing their children's well being. Advocacy contributes to the long-term mission of Phulki: changing the laws and attitudes of the country - those of employers, managers, and government officials. The priorities are of the children and they are the first to benefit from these centers, along with the future generations of children, once attitudes are changed and greater awareness is achieved they will stay that way.
Organization's legal status:
Registered Social Organisation
Number of Employees:
150
 | 355 weeks agoOn-site Childcare as women's right has been chosen as a finalist in How to Create Market-Based Strategies that Benefit Low-Income Communities. |
