Women’s Work and Children’s Development Outcomes: The Influence of Employment Types

High inequality of opportunities for early childhood development is a major social challenge in the Arab region. This study evaluates the role of mothers’ employment status on children’s developmental outcomes as measured by a set of health and education indicators across sixteen low- and middle-income Arab countries during the years 2002–2015. First, we confirm that many Arab children receive inadequate access to qualified prenatal and delivery care, many fail to be vaccinated or receive an inadequate supply of iodine. Disproportionately many children thus become stunted and underweight, or die before their first birthday. Significant deficiencies exist also in children’s opportunities for cognitive development: enrolment in nurseries and pre-school programs, and cognitive stimulation at home. Meanwhile, violent disciplining and exploitation of children for housework are widespread. Second, our health-survey data confirm that young Arab mothers tend to hold lower-level, precarious work even relative to the notoriously poor out-ofsurvey benchmarks for all women. Mothers’ employment affects children’s outcomes systematically and significantly, with more-formal positions in the labor market being responsible for generally better nutritional outcomes of children. This is the case for children’s risk of stunting and wasting, and across most occupation types also for being underweight. This differs substantially across countries and years, and across children’s specific circumstances, suggesting that children’s vulnerabilities are interrelated and exacerbate each other. Public policy should focus on lifting women’s opportunities in the labor market and on expanding quality daycare services especially in underserved areas.