PepsiCo, in line with its commitment to empowering women and reducing poverty in rural communities, set out with an objective to reduce the burden of childcare amongst women workers so that they may increase their wages. This was especially necessary in the agriculture sector, in which PepsiCo is a substantial investor.

The brief was to find a solution that would directly bring about a positive change in the status quo.

On International Women’s Day, PepsiCo announced a new initiative: What We Grow. The idea was extremely innovative in rural Pakistan which offers no childcare support: partner with our growers to set up daycare centers at potato farms, in order to enable more female workers to earn wages in the agricultural sector.

In a first-of-its-kind activation, the daycare centers would free female workers of the burden of minding children during the day, especially at harvest season, enabling them to work unencumbered of worry.

After looking at national family data and reviewing several rural workforce studies, we concluded that the biggest barrier for Pakistani women entering the agricultural employment sector is the lack of suitable childcare, especially problematic in a society which places the burden of child-rearing almost exclusively on women, and offers virtually no support.

At an average family size of 6.5, the Pakistani woman is often burdened with home and child care, which restricts her from earning an income.

Our strategy was to develop an actionable solution, and to remove this barrier completely.

The daycare centers, now fully operational in rural Punjab - the heart of the Pakistani agricultural landscape, feature play rooms, learning centers and outdoor play areas, for which equipment has been made using recycled plastic and other sustainable material.

PepsiCo is also partnering with an NGO focused on child education, which will help expand the scope of this facility to include primary education for out-of-school children in the area. This is especially key in a country where the literacy rate is still low.

The greatest positive impact of this work will be felt by hundreds of rural Pakistani woman. They can now earn wages at these farms free of stress, ensuring proper care for their children while they are at work.

This has in turn encouraged thousands of other women to join the agriculture sector.

The children of these worker women will also greatly benefit in the long term, by being provided a safe place to receive schooling in.

Plans are in place to scale and expand the daycare centers across the country and beyond the province of Punjab, in order to reduce the disparity in labor workforce numbers nationwide.