Handbook on Gender in Asia
Edited by Shirlena Huang and Kanchana N. Ruwanpura
Chapter 21: Migrant workers and childcare at the place of destination: An overview of issues in the Mekong region, South East Asia
Kyoko Kusakabe
Abstract
Migrant workers’ childcare is often discussed in the context of transnational families and distance mothering. This chapter looks at different types of childcare arrangements that domestic and cross-border migrant workers make. It shows instances in which women migrant workers take care of children themselves, where they juggle their resources and networks to earn and do childcare. The chapter argues for the importance of childcare support for migrant workers. Even though wage and working condition improvement is still the most important concern for migrants, providing childcare support can reduce their expenditure and improve their choices in work. Since countries, such as Cambodia and Myanmar, have laws that obligate employers to provide childcare centers in workplaces, claiming for childcare support is an under-utilized resource that has the potential to improve migrant workers’ well-being.
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