Supporting Access to and Retention in Employment for Women by Enhancing Child Care Services in Turkey

Female labor force participation remains low in Turkey compared to other OECD countries and labor market attachment is particularly low among women with children. In recent years, government policy has focused on the expansion of child care services as a means to support women’s participation in employment. Yet there are significant gaps in the provision of flexible quality child care services and demand remains constrained by social norms, practices and affordability issues. Child care and preschool services are mostly organized by public providers. Legislation that aims to encourage businesses to set-up child care services for their employees lacks enforcement mechanisms to be effective. Greater public investment in private provision and regulation changes could result in more affordable private provision for families and encourage the development of private sector provision, including in Organized Industrial Zones. Municipalities could also play a stronger role in providing child care services.