Inter-relationships Between Women's and Children's Work: Effects on Children's Education in Malawi

Flora J. Nankhuni, Pennsylvania State University
Jill L. Findeis, Pennsylvania State University

This paper investigates the inter-relationships between women's and children's work and its implications on children's schooling. First, the paper analyzes the distribution of domestic work hours between women, men, and children in Malawi. The paper further investigates the relationship between children's long hours of domestic work and their likelihood to attend school. Literature on child labor and schooling mostly shows the negative impact of formal child employment. However, in sub-Saharan Africa, at least 95% of child labor takes place in private homes. Few studies have quantified the effects of domestic child labor on schooling opportunities. This study is a contribution to filling this research gap. Since women and children, particularly girls, shoulder a large portion of the domestic work burden, the paper also investigates if children who live in a household comprised of more women experience lower work burdens and whether this helps the children’s education opportunities.