Child Care in the Workplace: Addressing the Challenges of Gender Equality and Productivity in Modern Employment

Bello-Adegboyega, Farida Oyindamola (2025) Child Care in the Workplace: Addressing the Challenges of Gender Equality and Productivity in Modern Employment. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

Preview

PDF (Bachelor of Arts) Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Workplace-sponsored childcare is a vital policy intervention that promotes gender equality, enhances employee well-being, and boosts productivity. This issue has become increasingly important for organisations aiming to be both inclusive and efficient. The study indicates that because women often bear a larger share of child-rearing responsibilities, it hinders their chances of progressing in their careers. Therefore, there is a need to implement workplace policies that improve access to childcare.

Based on interviews conducted to explore and address the identified financial risk research questions and guided by an interpretivist approach, the findings suggest that providing childcare at the workplace can reduce absenteeism and employee turnover, thereby promoting workplace stability. Less stressed and more concentrated employees, especially working mothers, translate into increased efficiency and job satisfaction. Employers using the childcare policy also declare that it enhanced their influx and retention of talent, making them appear more inclusive and supportive. Instead of providing economic advantages alone, workplace childcare supports a culture of equity by redistributing the caregiving burden and normalising parental care in professional settings. This study also highlights the barriers to workplace childcare implementation: budgetary constraints, logistical challenges, and cultural attitudes regarding childcare as an individual and not an organisational issue. This research gives recommendations to address these issues, advocating for public-private partnerships, government inducements, and flexible workplace structures that keep childcare accessible. In connection with Goldin's statement that societal settings, rather than individual choices alone, determine gender equality, the study reinforces calls for systemic interventions targeted at bridging the gender gap in employment.

In summary, the research confirms that workplace child caring services are not just an additional facility but a necessity that organisations should aspire to meet in their quest for gender equity and optimal productivity. The use of childcare services within workplace policies promotes a more balanced and equitable workforce and benefits employees, employers, and the economy. This study underlines the potential transformation of workplace childcare into an all-round future of modern employment by calling for evidence-based policy reforms and promoting employer-initiated childcare programs.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Supervisors:	Name Email Sheridan, Fiona UNSPECIFIED MacDonald, Robert UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman > Children H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Equal Opportunity in Employment H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman > Gender H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work > Classes of Labour > Women and Work
Divisions:	School of Business (- 2025) > BA (Honours) in Business Studies
Depositing User:	Ciara O'Brien
Date Deposited:	19 Mar 2026 09:52
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2026 09:52
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/9176

Actions (login required)

View Item