The Ministry of Social and Family Development has opened a child-care facility.
According to the Ministry, such childcare spaces in offices or workplaces play a critical role in helping working parents, particularly female employees, to balance their workplace and family life, and improve their overall mental well-being. These spaces will enable staff to focus on their work, bringing the peace of mind that their children are in safe hands in close proximity, the Ministry said.
The initiative is expected to improve the mental health of the employees, enhance their productivity and encourage them to attend work consistently, the Ministry said. This also fosters a greater sense of engagement and comfort within the workplace environment. Emphasising that providing such facilities can significantly increase job satisfaction, the Ministry said the such spaces are powerful tools for employers to recruit and retain the best employees, the ministry said.
The Ministry further said the child-care space was established to ensure that government agencies and companies work together towards gender equality through a robust system, and to balance gender mainstreaming at an administrative level. Opening such spaces is also a key step in advancing gender mainstreaming, women’s empowerment, and the creation of equal opportunities for women at all levels of employment, the Ministry added.