Childcare arrangements of migrant mothers in an urban township in South Africa

Majola, Thobelani; Dunn, Shanaaz; Maharaj, Pranitha

doi:10.1080/0966369x.2021.2013780

Cited by 3 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…27 In Europe, involvement of grandparents in regularly caring for the young is increasingly becoming a support mechanism for families. 28 Caregiving by extended family members such as grandparents, sisters and aunts 29 has been part of the traditional support structure for women from less industrialised countries. Irrespective of whether a woman researcher's caregiving responsibilities are shouldered by a grandparent or another member of the extended family, the woman researcher remains responsible for the economic stability of the caregiver who is standing in for her.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered research grant conditions and their effect on women’s application (dis)engagement

Bosch

Pondayi

2022

The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa

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Men continue to outperform women in obtaining funding through research grants globally, in both science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and social science, in multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary fields. This article focuses on the role of research grant funding conditions in women’s lack of research grant funding. Grant conditions are the rules of participation and funding use set out by grant funders. This study aimed to answer the question: how do grant conditions limit women’s propensity to engage with research grant applications? Research grants from the Open 4 Research database were analysed. Research careers with a reproductive life-cycle perspective and four feminist concepts were deliberately gendered. These resulted in a theoretical framework. A content analysis on n = 270 multidisciplinary early career grants for those who already have a PhD was conducted. Grants were selected from both the social science and STEM disciplines. The findings suggest that, overwhelmingly, grant conditions are gender-neutral, assuming no differences between women and men. A comparison between STEM and social science grant conditions also show very little difference. The article provides a framework to guide multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary grant funders in crafting deliberately gendered grant conditions.Transdisciplinary contribution: A pre-application phase to the research grant application process by problematising gender neutrality in early-career researcher grant conditions is introduced. It is posited that grants’ gender neutrality is discouraging women to consider applying, resulting in self-exclusion early in the pre-application phase.

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered research grant conditions and their effect on women’s application (dis)engagement

Bosch

Pondayi

2022

The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa

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“…Young women placed their children in both formal as well as informal childcare facilities. The preference of either formal or informal childcare facilities is largely influenced by the child's age (Majola et al, 2021). The study found that majority of young women whose children began attending facilities when they were infants highlighted that they preferred informal facilities.…”

Section: Childcare Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Parents place strong emphasis on safety as one of the major issues when making care arrangements (Shlay 2010). Majola et al (2021) also observed that for most mothers, the safety of childcare facilities is of paramount importance. Young women were concerned about their children's safety, as being within childcare facilities may expose them to unsafe conditions and risks of communicable diseases.…”

Section: Childcare Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Effective childcare within facilities may enhance childhood development, leading to children being more confident, with improved social skills and higher learning achievements (Côté et al, 2013cited in Horwood et al, 2021. In their study, Majola et al (2021) suggest that mothers perceive childcare facilities as important for children's growth and development. Young women noted the importance of ensuring that children attend childcare facilities as it strengthened their communication skills.…”

Section: Childcare Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was because the majority of older women who looked after children were not well educated. Majola et al (2021) indicate that mothers recognise the importance of care and education as they prefer their children to be cared for by trained teachers. Formal facilities are important for children who are at an age where they are able to speak and learn as most formal facilities consist of trained teachers who are able to teach children.…”

Section: Childcare Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unpacking the social constructions of motherhood: exploring mother presence among young African women.

Majola

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The experience of pregnancy and childbirth are life changing for women. In most African societies, childcare is often a woman’s responsibility. The motherhood journey of a young woman may be significantly impacted by the presence and/or absence of a biological mother. The presence of a biological mother is regarded as important in all stages of development, particularly for female children. However, mothers are absent for a number of reasons including their death. The absence of a biological mother exposes children to various challenges, including poverty, poor educational attainments and health issues. A growing body of research in South Africa has focused on father absence; however, few has explored mother absence and the implications this has on children. Therefore, this study aimed to unpack the meaning of motherhood as socially constructed by young African women in a township of KwaZulu-Natal province. The study sought to explore the perspectives and experiences of young women, taking into consideration the presence and/or absence of a biological mother. A qualitative research methodology was employed and data was obtained through telephonic interviews with 20 young women who grew up living with the presence of their biological mothers as well as 20 young women who grew up in the absence of their biological mothers. Young women were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. The findings of the study suggest that the presence of a biological mother was significant for women who fell pregnant at a young age. Even though grandmothers and extended family members were actively supporting young women who had absent mothers, the presence of a biological mother was deemed essential for women. The transition from girlhood to motherhood was accompanied by numerous implications for young women. Financial challenges stemming from unemployment, poor economic backgrounds and father absence affected young mothers. This negatively impacted education and career aspiration of certain young women. The study recommends the involvement of families, government and private stakeholders in supporting young mothers. This can be achieved by enhancing family support programmes within communities. Furthermore, the promotion of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) is deemed important for the reduction of high rates of unemployment among young women in South Africa.

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Fathers’ experiences of childcare and feeding: A photo-elicitation study in a low resource setting in urban Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

et al. 2023

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Children’s health and wellbeing studies focus mainly on mothers’ roles while very little is known about the experiences/challenges that fathers face in fulfilling their responsibilities. Therefore, this study aims to explore the fathers’ lived experiences of childcare and feeding in an urban low-income setting. This qualitative study was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo-elicitation was used to facilitate the in-depth interviews with fathers of children below the age of five years. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated verbatim, followed by a thematic analysis approach. The overarching theme of this study was “Fatherhood as an enduring identity”, which comprised of three sub-themes: 1) Blessings of fatherhood, 2) Adjusting to fathering roles, and 3) Struggles/demands of fatherhood in a low-resource setting. Fathers expressed that having children or becoming parents was a blessing. They expressed their love, devotion, and attachment to their children. Some used the term "my second chance in life" underscoring the importance. Although fathers strived relentlessly to spend time and care for their children, they faced challenges such as internal struggles adjusting to and fatherhood whilst maintaining a sense of their former self. As well, providing for their families amidst added pressures imposed by the external environment, such as poor housing conditions, a lack of employment opportunities, the then COVID-19 pandemic, further increased their stressors. Most fathers were engaged in child care and feeding, suggesting that like mothers, fathers should be viewed as potential agents for implementing nutrition interventions in this setting. However, if interventions are to be successful, they need to incorporate components that boost fathers’ livelihoods and general wellbeing.

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Childcare arrangements of migrant mothers in an urban township in South Africa

Cited by 3 publications

References 37 publications

Gendered research grant conditions and their effect on women’s application (dis)engagement

Gendered research grant conditions and their effect on women’s application (dis)engagement

Unpacking the social constructions of motherhood: exploring mother presence among young African women.

Fathers’ experiences of childcare and feeding: A photo-elicitation study in a low resource setting in urban Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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