Scaling Up Innovations to Reduce and Redistribute Women’s Unpaid Care Work in Kishapu District, Shinyanga

Unpaid care work such as childcare, cooking, cleaning, and fetching water is predominantly done by women and girls, playing a crucial role in family and community well-being. Despite its importance, this work is often undervalued and neglected in policy and economic planning. The heavy care burden limits women and girls’ access to education, paid employment, economic opportunities, and leadership roles, a situation worsened by poor access to infrastructure like clean water and healthcare.

To tackle these challenges, WSP, in partnership with ESRF and REDESO, is implementing an innovative project funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) Canada. The project combines entrepreneurship support with gender norm transformation, inspired by Rwanda’s Bandebereho Male Engagement Program, which encourages men to share caregiving responsibilities and challenges harmful gender stereotypes.

The interventions are taking place across 10 villages, targeting 20 social groups with a target of reaching 360 participants through entrepreneurship, formal job and male engagement trainings. At the ministry level, four representatives from key government institutions will be involved, while 50 participants will be trained at the regional and district levels. The project adopts local criteria for participant inclusion, focusing on social group membership and involving married or cohabiting couples, ensuring the program is tailored to Kishapu’s context.