英文职业女性调研报告

PublicDisclosureAuthorizedPublicDisclosureAuthorized

PolicyResearchWorkingPaper10906

WomenatWork

EvidencefromaRandomizedExperimentinUrbanDjibouti

FlorenciaDevoto

EmanuelaGalasso

KathleenBeegle

StefanieBrodmann

WORLDBANKGROUP

DevelopmentEconomics

DevelopmentResearchGroupSeptember2024

PolicyResearchWorkingPaper10906

Abstract

Insomedevelopingcountries,women’slaborforcepartici-pationremainspersistentlylow.Thisgivesrisetoquestionsregardingwhattypesofemploymentopportunitiesorinterventionscandrawwomenintoworkinsuchcontexts.InthisstudyinurbanDjibouti,withrestrictivegendernormsandverylowfemaleemploymentrates,womenwererandomlyofferedtheopportunitytobeemployedinapublicworksprogramdesignedspecificallytofacili-tatetheirparticipation.Programtake-upisveryhigh,and

mostparticipantsdonotdelegatetheirworkopportunitytoanotheradult.However,inthemediumtermaftertheprogramends,womenwhoreceivethetemporaryemploy-mentofferrevertbacktononparticipationinthelabormarket.Theseresultssuggestthatwhilesocialnormscanbeadeterrenttowomen’sworkinsettingswithverylowemploymentrates,womenwillparticipateinworkoppor-tunitieswhentheyareofferedandsuitable.

ThispaperisaproductoftheDevelopmentResearchGroup,DevelopmentEconomics.ItispartofalargereffortbytheWorldBanktoprovideopenaccesstoitsresearchandmakeacontributiontodevelopmentpolicydiscussionsaroundtheworld.PolicyResearchWorkingPapersarealsopostedontheWebat

/prwp

.Theauthorsmaybecontactedategalasso@andkbeegle@.

ThePolicyResearchWorkingPaperSeriesdisseminatesthefindingsofworkinprogresstoencouragetheexchangeofideasaboutdevelopmentissues.Anobjectiveoftheseriesistogetthefindingsoutquickly,evenifthepresentationsarelessthanfullypolished.Thepaperscarrythenamesoftheauthorsandshouldbecitedaccordingly.Thefindings,interpretations,andconclusionsexpressedinthispaperareentirelythoseoftheauthors.TheydonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheInternationalBankforReconstructionandDevelopment/WorldBankanditsaffiliatedorganizations,orthoseoftheExecutiveDirectorsoftheWorldBankorthegovernmentstheyrepresent.

ProducedbytheResearchSupportTeam

WomenatWork:EvidencefromaRandomizedExperimentinUrbanDjibouti

ByFlorenciaDevoto,EmanuelaGalasso,KathleenBeegle,andStefanieBrodmann*

Labor,PublicWorks,Gender

[JEL]C93,H53,I38,J16,J22,O12

*Devoto:UniversityMohammedVIPolytechnic(email:fdevoto@);Galasso:WorldBank(email:egalasso@);Brodmann:WorldBank(email:sbrodmann@));Beegle:WorldBank(email:kbeegle@).TheIRBofParisSchoolofEconomicsapprovedtheprotocolofthisstudy.WethankHabibaDjebbari,EstherDuflo,PascalineDupas,MarcGurgand,EliseHuillery,AminaSaidChire,KudzaiTakavarasha,andtheseminarparticipantsattheWorldBank,SREE,IZA/DFIDGLM-LIC,CSAE,Goettingen,andKholkatafortheirusefulcomments,aswellascommentsfromtwoanonymousreferees.TheimpactevaluationwascarriedoutinclosecollaborationwiththeGovernmentofDjiboutiandtheWorldBank.WearegratefultoAbdallahMoutounafromtheAgenceDjiboutiennedeDéveloppementSocial(ADDS)forhissupportthroughouttheproject.WearegratefultoGoudoneAliMoussa(ADDS),ClaraWelteke,thefieldsupervisors,andthesurveyinterviewersfortheirsupportduringdatacollection.LoicCouasnonandOmarAbdoulkaderprovidedoutstandingfieldcoordinationthroughouttheproject.Allerrorsremainourown.WegratefullyacknowledgethefundingwereceivedfromtheStrategicImpactEvaluationTrustFundandtheDjiboutiSocialSafetyNetsProject.Thefindings,interpretations,andconclusionsexpressedinthispaperareentirelythoseoftheauthors.TheydonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheWorldBankanditsaffiliatedorganizations,orthoseoftheExecutiveDirectorsoftheWorldBankorthegovernmentstheyrepresent.

2

1.Introduction

Women’slabormarketparticipationhasremainedstubbornlyflatorisevendeclininginsomepartsoftheworld.Insuchcountries,lowfemaleemploymentpresentsapersistentpolicychallenge.AlthoughtheprevalentU-shapehypothesispositsthatwomen’sworkfirstdeclinesandthenincreaseswitheconomicdevelopment(Goldin,1995,amongmanyothers),thishypothesishasmixedempiricalsupport(Gaddis&Klasen,2014;Verme,2015).Infact,substantialheterogeneityinwomen’sworkacrosscountriessuggeststhateconomicgrowthisbutoneofmanyfactorsthatexplainfemalelaborforceparticipation.Otherfactors,suchasinitialeconomicstructureandsocialnormsalsoarepositedtoplayamajorroleinexplainingwomen’spersistentlyloweconomicparticipation(Boserup,1970;Heath&Jayachandran,2017;Klasen,2019).Theseissuesinfluencewomen’swillingnessandabilitytoworkoutsidethehome,andtheymaylimitwomen’spursuitofwageworkandconstraintheirentrepreneurialchoices(Jayachandran,2021;Jayachandran,2015;Fieldetal.,2021).

Manyquestionsremainregardingwhattypesofemploymentopportunitiesandinterventionsdrawwomenintothelaborforce,especiallyinsettingswithpersistentlylowlevelsofparticipation.RecentexamplesofsuchpoliciesincludewagesubsidiesforfemalegraduatesinJordan,whichledtoshort-termincreasesinemploymentthatfadedafterthesubsidyexpired(Grohetal.,2016).Otherinterventionshaveaddressedsocialnormsbydirectlyshiftingmen’sattitudesaboutwomenworkingbyprovidingthemwithinformationtocorrecttheirmisperceptionoftheirpeers’disapprovaloffemaleemploymentinSaudiArabia(Bursztynetal.,2020)andchangingfamilyattitudesaboutwomenworkinginIndia(Dean&Jayachandran,2019;McKelway,2023).Alternatively,inTunisiaeffortsweresuccessfullymadetofosterwomen’sself-employmentopportunitiesathome,sincesocialnormslimitwomen’sphysicalmobility(Gazeaudetal.,2022).

Inthisstudy,weleveragedauniqueinterventioninurbanDjiboutithatrandomizedaccesstoashort-termandtargetedemploymentopportunityintheformofpublicworksforwomeninaneconomicallyandsociallyconstrainedenvironment.Thisinterventionwasdesignedtoaddresstworesearchquestions.First,westudytheshort-termeffectsofthisjobofferonunskilledwomenwithlimitedlabormarkettiesandfoundationalsocialconstraints.Second,weaskwhetherthisshort-termemploymentopportunityinducedthemtostayinthelaborforceaftertheprogramended.Publicworksparticipationmaynotonlyprovideshort-termincome,butalsoserveasagatewaytofutureemployment(Hoetal.,2024),sowealsolookattheintervention’scontemporaneouseffectsandmedium-termimpactstodocumentwhetheritultimatelyincreaseslaborforceparticipation.

Drawingondataonthelaborsupplyofthefemalebeneficiaries,theirhusbands,andotheradulthouseholdmembers,wemeasurethelaborsupplyresponsetotheshort-termpublicworksoffer.Wealsoconsiderhowthejobofferanduptakeaffectswomen’sdecision-

3

makingpower,timeuse,andintra-householdresourceallocationdecisions,aswellastheirandtheirhusbands’well-being.Wemeasuretheseeffectsbothduringimplementationandninemonthsaftertheprogramceased.

TheDjiboutianpublicworksprogramstandsoutduetoitsexplicitgenderfocus:women,butparticularlyconstrainedpregnantwomenormothersofyoungchildren,weretheprincipalrecipients.Theprogramofferedeligiblewomen50consecutivedaysofworkwithintheboundariesoftheirneighborhoods,therebyovercominganygeographicbarriersthatmightlimittheirparticipation(Tucker,2008).Theworksthemselvesentailedanythingfromcleaningservices(e.g.garbagecollection,particularlyplasticbags),lightlabor-intensivecommunityactivities,tosmallartisanalprojects.Participantswerepaidwagesequivalentto80percentofDjibouti’sofficialminimumwage.Womenineligiblehouseholdswhocouldnotordidnotwishtoparticipateintheprogramcoulddelegatetheiroffertoanyotheradultmemberoftheirhousehold,maleorfemale.Inspecificcases,delegationtoadultsoutsideawoman’shouseholdwaspermitted.

Ouranalysisyieldssixmainfindings.First,theprogramhasalmostuniversaltake-up:weestimatethat92%ofthehouseholdsthatwereofferedtheopportunitytoparticipateinprogramacceptit.Surprisingly,morethanthree-quartersofthewomeninparticipatinghouseholdschoosetoworkthemselves,ratherthandelegatingtheoffertoahouseholdmemberoroutsidefamilymemberorfriend.Thisresultisnotable,giventhatthetargetpopulationhashighcareburdens(i.e.,femaleparticipantswithyoungorinuterochildren).Inaddition,almostallthewomenwhodonotacceptthepublicworksofferdelegatetheopportunityandthecorrespondingdirectincomepaymenttoanotheradult.Interestingly,inasettingwheremarriageisalmostuniversal,thewomenwhodelegatetheirofferdosotosomeoneoutsideoftheirhousehold,andnottotheirhusbandsoreventoanotherhouseholdmember.

Second,thenearuniversalprogramtake-upresultsina55-percentage-pointincreaseinwomen’semployment,afteraccountingforincompletetake-up,delegation,andlimitedcrowdingoutofself-employment.Thereisnolaborresponsefromhusbands(mainlylimitedtoinstancesofdelegation)orotherhouseholdmembers.Aftertheshort-termemploymentopportunityended,womeneitherreverttoremainingunemployedortosearchingforemployment.

Third,basedondetailedtime-usedata,wedocumentthatbeneficiarywomenaccommodatetheadditionaloutsideearningopportunitybyassigningsomeoftheirhouseholdchorestootherhouseholdmembersandentrustingthecareoftheirchildrentootherwomen,includingfemaleneighbors.

Fourth,weestimatetheaverageparticipant’snetincomegainsduringtheprogramandfindthatitwasveryclosetothegrosswageweeklytransfer(withanestimated16percentofforegoneincome).Thesenetincomegainscorrespondtoa30percentincreasein

4

householdlaborincome.Inlinewiththetemporarynatureoftheprogram,womensavemostoftheirincomegains,consumingonlyasmallshare.Amongparticipatinghouseholds,wealsofinda9percentincreaseinpercapitaexpenditureanda12percentincreaseinpercapitafoodexpenditure.Theconsumptiongainsarereflectedinmodestimprovementsinfooddiversityforyoungchildrenatmidline,suggestingthattheprogramenablessomemotherstoactonthenutritioneducationthattheyreceiveduringtheirlocalnutritionandhealthsessions.

Fifth,mostofthewomenwhoacceptthepublicworksofferreportmaintainingcontrolovertheirearnings.Onlyasmallportionofwomengivetheirearningstotheirhusbands.Drawingonouruniqueandintensiveintra-householdtransfersweeklysurveydata,wealsoshowthatthetransfersthathusbandsmaketotheirparticipatingwivestomanagehouseholdexpendituresaresubstantialandremainunaffected.

Finally,wedonotfindthatprogramparticipantssustainlabormarketattachmentaftertheshort-termincomeopportunity.Althoughtheinterventionsubstantiallyincreaseswomen’semploymentforitsdurationand,thereby,mightactasanincentivetofutureemployment,wefindthattheprogramhasneitherapositiveeffectonwomen’semploymentnoranimpactontheirwillingnesstosearchforajoborstartaself-employmentinthenearfuture.However,wedoobserveamarginalimprovementinwomen’sdecision-makingpower,whichweproxiedbywomen’sself-reportedperceivedparticipationinhouseholddecisions,9monthsaftertheprogramended.

Beyondtheaverageeffects,animportantanglethatwestudiediswhetherspecificsubgroupsbenefitthemost(ortheleast)fromtheintervention.Tothisend,weusemachinelearningmethodstotestfortheextentofsuchheterogeneity.Wefindthatwomenwhowereemployedatbaseline(andthuswithapotentiallyhigheropportunitycostfortheirtime)arelesslikelytobenefitfromtheprogram.Thebulkofemploymentatbaselineisaccountedforbywomenengagedinself-employmentactivitieswhoweremarginallypoorerthanwomenwithnoemployment,conditionalonbothhavingverylowliteracyrates.

Interestingly,theheterogeneityanalysisalsoshowsthatwomenwithmoremobilityconstraintsatbaselineareleastlikelytotakeuptheemploymentoffer,althoughtheystillacceptthepublicworksoffer,withone-thirdofthewomenbeingemployed.Thissuggeststhatsocialnormsarepartiallybindingandthattheymediatethelaborsupplyresponse.Weobservethedrop-offinemploymentatendlineacrosstheboard,withnodetectedheterogeneityaftertheprogramended.

OurresultsspeaktothebroadliteratureonpublicworksinspiredbytheseminalandpioneeringworkofMartinRavallion(1990,1991,and1999)andtheroleofpublicworksinpovertyreductionandincomestabilization.Thedirecteffectsonparticipatinghouseholdshingeondeterminingawageratethatscreensforthebeneficiarieswho

5

neededtheprogramthemost.Women,onaverage,generallyhaveloweropportunitycosts/potentialforegoneincomeand,thus,standtogainrelativelymore.OtherpublicworksprogramshavedocumentedlargerincomegainsforwomeninArgentina(Jalan&Ravallion,2003;Galasso&Ravallion,2004)andCôted’Ivoire(Bertrandetal.,2021).Importantly,thewageratedidnotoperateasaself-targetingmechanisminoursetting,possiblybecauseofthegenerouswageratecoupledwiththetargetedpopulation’slimitedpotentialforegoneincome(seealsoGoldberg,2016).Contrarytootherstudies(Datt&Ravallion,1994),wefindneitherlaborsupplyreallocationwithinthehouseholdnorintrahouseholdincometransfersamongbeneficiariesinresponsetothepublicworksprogramoffer.Thefemalelaborresponseandtheearninggainsareadditional,and,therefore,notcompensatedbyothermembers’behavioralresponses.

Ourpaperalsocontributestothegrowingliteratureonpoliciesthataimtoovercomebarrierstofemalelaborforceparticipationinlow-andmiddle-incomecountries.Theinterventionwestudyexplicitlytargetedunskilledwomeninasettingwithsubstantialgendernorms.Thesewomenarewillingandabletoenterthelabormarketwhenoffered.Whentheywork,theyalsohavecontrolovertheirearnings.Theimpactoftheinterventionis,however,short-lived,andtheinterventionitselfresultsinneithershiftsinhouseholddecisionmakingnorpersistenceinlaborforceattachment.Incontrast,Afridietal.(2016)findthatworkingmothersplayedagreaterroleindecisionmakingasaresultoftheNREGApublicemploymentguaranteeinIndia.Likewise,Fieldetal.(2021)showthatenhancingIndianwomen’scontrolovertheirincomebyteachingthemhowtoopenandmanagebankaccountsandmakedirectdepositsincreasednotonlyfemalelaborparticipationinpublicworks,butalsolabormarketengagementinprivatesectorjobs.Intheirstudy,financialcontroloverone’searningsalongwiththeoptionvalueofworkingoutsidethehome(withinthecontextofajobguaranteeprogram)helpedshifttheperceptionsofcommunitieswithlong-heldviewsaboutfemaleemployment.Ourresultssuggestthat,whilesocialnormsaboutworkandtimeusearerelevant,theabsenceof“adequate”workplaysagreaterroleinconstrainingwomen’swork.Providingsuitableemploymentoptionsinlocallabormarketsthataretailoredtowomen’sneeds(e.g.,part-timework,closeproximitytohomeandfamily,etc.)maybeimportantpolicydimensionstoconsiderwhenseekingtobolsterfemalelaborforceparticipationinsimilarsettings.Ofcourse,these“needs”arethemselvesaproductofnorms,especiallywhoisresponsibleforchildcareandhouseholdchores.

Theremainderofthispaperisstructuredasfollows:InSection2,wepresentthecontextandintervention.Section3includesadescriptionofourexperimentaldesign.Section4detailsourdatacollectionandtheempiricalmethods.Section5presentsourmainresults.Section6analyzestheheterogeneityoftheeffects.Section7concludesthestudy.

6

2.ContextandIntervention

DjiboutiisasmallcountryinEastAfricawithlimitedeconomicdiversification.Inthelasttwodecades,economicgrowthinDjiboutihasbeendrivenbydirectforeigninvestmentandpublicsector-ledinfrastructureinvestment,bothofwhichhavehadlimitedtrickledowneffectsonjobcreationandpovertyreductionamonglargeportionsofthepopulation.Basedontheinternationalpovertylineforlower-middle-incomeeconomieswithadailywageof$3.20(inUSD2011PPPs;WorldBank,2019),approximatelyone-thirdofDjibouti’spopulationlivesinpoverty.Thecountryalsosuffersfromahighleveloffoodinsecurity(WorldFoodProgram,2022)andverylowhumandevelopmentoutcomescomparedtootherlowermiddle-incomecountries.One-thirdofDjiboutianchildrenareunderweightorstunted,andmaternalmortalityandchildmortalityarehigherthaninneighboringandeconomicallycomparablecountries(WorldBank,2018).Only60percentofthepopulationaged15yearsandolderisliterate,andnetenrollmentinprimaryschoolisonly66percent(fromthe2019WorldDevelopmentIndicators).

InDjibouti,bothwomenandmenhaveextremelylowliteracylevels,buttheformerarelessliteratethanthelatter(43and60percent,respectively;WorldBank,2019).Althoughsafetynetsexist,theircoverageislimited.Accordingtothe2017DjiboutianHouseholdSurvey(EnquêteDjiboutienneAuprèsdesMénages[EDAM]),only11percentofalladultwomenareemployed.Womenwithsomepost-primaryeducationaremarginallymorelikely(13percent)tobeworkingthantheirpeerswithlessschooling.Workingwomenwithmoreeducationarealsomuchmorelikelytobeemployedwithinthepublicsector(73percentwithanypost-primaryeducationand19percentwithonlyprimaryeducation).Thesameisalsotrueformen.Overall,thepublicsectoremploys78percentofworkingadultswithatleastsomeseniorsecondaryeducation(EDAM2017,authors’calculation).

Withinthepoorandhighlyfoodinsecurecontextdescribedabove,adroughtthatoccurredinlate2011andinto2012resultedinsignificantlossofDjibouti’spopulation’slivelihoodandfoodsecurity.Inresponse,thegovernmentshifteditsfocustowarddevelopinganemergencyresponsesystemtoprovideshort-termincomesupporttopoorhouseholdsfacingunemploymentshocksandhighfoodinsecurity,whilesimultaneouslypromotingshort-andlong-termhumancapitalformation.Partofthiseffortentailedthepublicworksprogramwestudyhere,whichwasrolled-outinselectpoorneighborhoodsofDjiboutiCityfirstandthensuccessivelyexpandedtootherurbanandruralareas.Theprimarytargetpopulationforthisprogramwasallhouseholdswithpregnantwomenandmothersofchildrenaged0-2years.

Inthefirstpartoftheprogram,eligiblewomenfromparticipatinghouseholdsjoinedcommunity-basedchildandmaternalnutritionsessions.Eachsessionincludedamaximum

7

of20women,washeldwithinwalkingdistancefromtheparticipants’homes,andwasledbyalocaltrainedvolunteer.

1

Thesessionseducatedwomenonoptimalnutritionpracticesandpreventedmalnutritionthroughgrowthmonitoring.WomenstartedattendingthemonthlygroupsessionsinSeptember2012.

Thesecondpartoftheprogramentailedpublicworks.Allhouseholdsparticipatinginthenutritionsessionswereeligibleforpublicworksandeligibilitywasnottargetedbasedonincomeorassets.Intheabsenceofanationalpovertytargetingmechanismandverylimitedsocialassistanceprograms,thegovernmentrolledoutapublicworksprogramthat,intheory,wouldreachthepooresthouseholdsthroughself-targeting.Inpractice,however,self-targetingdoesnotoccurduetothewagerate,thelowrateoftheparticipants’otherforegoneincome,andtheworksite’sdesignfeatures(discussedbelow).

Thepublicworksprogramincludedlabor-intensiveservices(e.g.,garbagecollection,particularlyplasticbags),lightlabor-intensivecommunityworks(e.g.,streetrehabilitationtoimprovetrafficandexpandaccesstosurroundingareas),andsmallgroup-basedartisanalprojects.Communitieswereassignedtothetypeofprojectbasedonthepreferencesthattheircommunityleadersreported.Thepublicworksprojectscommenced,onaverage,withintwoweeksoftheoffertohouseholds.Thisemergencysupportprojectalsolaidthefoundationsfordevelopingasocialregistrysystemthatcouldbeusedtoidentifythebeneficiariesoffuturesocialassistanceprograms.

Forequityreasons,publicworksprogramsoftenincludegenderquotas.Forexample,India’sNREGAreservesone-thirdoftheworkopportunitiesforwomenandoffersequalwagestobothmenandwomen(Afridietal.,2016).Ghana’slabor-intensivepublicworks(LIPW)programrequiresatleasthalfofthebeneficiariestobewomen(Dadzie&Ofei-Aboagye,2021).Inbothprograms,however,theshareofparticipatingwomenhasexceededthesequotas.TheprograminDjiboutihadanevenmoreaggressivegendertarget:womeninthefirst1,000daysofpregnancyandmotherhood.Employmentoffersinthepublicworksprogramwereeventuallymadetoallwomenenrolledinthenutritionsessions.Participation,however,couldnotbeofferedtoallwomensimultaneouslyduetocapacityconstraintsfortherollout.Instead,femalefacilitatorswhoranthenutritionsessionsinvitedwomentoparticipateinthepublicworksprogramonarollingbasisacrosslocations.Bytheendofthemeetingsthatannouncedtheprogram,eachwomanhadtodecidewhethertoaccepttheofferordelegatetheopportunitytoanyotheradult,maleorfemale,whowouldthenperformthework.Althoughtheprogramwasenvisionedtobe

1Atthebeginningofeachsession,acommunityworkermeasuredandweighedtheparticipantsandtheirchildren.Pregnantwomenandthosewithchildrenaged0-2yearswereenrolledinseparategroups.Thecommunity-basedprogramfollowedastandardgrowthpromotionpackage:sessionslastedabouttwohoursandincludednutritioneducation,growthpromotion,cookingsessions,andthedistributionofnutritionalsupplements.Ifaproblemwasdetectedduringasession,thenthecommunityworkervisitedthefamilyseparatelyinordertoprovidemoreindividualizedcounselingand/orareferraltothenearesthealthclinic.

8

delegatedtoanotherhouseholdmember,inpracticewomensometimesdesignatenon-householdmemberstotaketheirplace.

Thenutritionsessionsandpublicworksinterventionswerelinkedintentionallyinordertoprotecthumancapitalinvestmentsduringthecriticalwindowofthefirst1,000days.Theincomeopportunitywasoffereddirectlytowomenspecificallywiththeexpectationthattheincreasedincomewouldhavealargerpositiveimpactonboththewomenandtheirsmallchildren’snutritionaloutcomes.Anditalsohopedthatexposuretopaidemploymentinasettingwithverylowworkratesforwomenwouldpotentiallycatapultwomenintotheworkforceaftertheprogramended.Inthisway,theprogramcouldactasagatewaytofutureworkforwomenwithverylittle—ifany—workexperience.Formanyfemaleparticipants,thepublicworksprogramwastheirfirstexperienceofpaidemployment.

Offeringworkopportunitiestopregnantwomenandmothersofyoungchildrenplacesonthemtheadditionalburdenoftryingtomanageboththeirdomesticandworkdutiessimultaneouslywhilebreastfeedingandchildrearing.Inlightoftheseconcerns,thepublicworkswereimplementedwithintheparticipants’neighborhoodstoovercomeanygeographicbarrierstoparticipationandtoaddresschildcareconcerns.Theprojectalsolimitedtheworkdaytofourhoursperdayandadaptedtheworkscheduletoaccountfortheparticipants’householdchores.

2

Inaddition,thepublicworksweredesignedtominimizethewomen’sriskofexposuretohealthhazardsandavoidacrowding-outeffectduetotimespentonnurturingcareandbreastfeeding.Totheseends,theimplementingagencystrictlyenforcedtheuseofprotectivegearaswellasbreastfeedingandwaterbreaksduringthepublicworksactivities.Moreover,womenintheirlasttrimesterofpregnancyaswellaswomenwithchildrenyoungerthan40dayswereineligibletoparticipateinpublicworks.However,theycoulddelegatetheoffertoanotherhouseholdmember.

3

UnlikepublicworksprogramssuchasNREGAinIndia(Afridietal.,2016),LIPWinGhana(Dadzie&Ofei-Aboagye,2021),andthePSNPinEthiopia(Haddocketal.,2019),thepublicworksprograminDjiboutididnotofferon-sitechildcare.Therefore,motherswereresponsiblefordelegatingchildcaretosomeoneelse.Agrowingbodyofevidencefromlow-andmiddle-incomecountrieshasestablishedthatinstitutionalchildcarehaspositiveeffectsontheextensiveorintensivemarginofemploymentformothers(Halimetal.,2022).Ajayietal.(2022)findimprovedfinancialoutcomesforwomenwhenpublicworks

2Maity(2020)notesthat,onoccasion,thestartingtimeforNREGAw