Today, Women’s Day, we celebrate all initiatives that seek to close gender gaps in Latin America and the Caribbean. From the point of view of early childhood policies, we know that there is abundant evidence on the impacts that child care programs have both on child development and female labor participation in developed countries. However, rigorous evidence for the region is scarce. This brings us to this question: What do we know about the relationship between child care and greater opportunities for women in Latin America and the Caribbean?

Closing the gender gap represents an untapped potential for growth, as well as creating opportunities for women in the region to achieve their full potential in their personal and professional lives.

A few years ago, I wrote an article about the benefits of becoming a mother after the age of 40. Although pregnancy caused significant changes and discomfort, the excitement of my child’s arrival overshadowed those challenges. What I didn’t expect was that, years later, I would again experience intense changes.

We know that mother tongue is the first language we acquire in our early childhood through our caregivers (parents, grandparents, siblings, and others). While it may seem like a natural process, providing services that empower caregivers to stimulate their children’s language development from an early age can make a big difference for a lifetime.

The gender gap in mathematics is closing in Latin America and the Caribbean. Girls are on par with boys in most participating countries in the most recent regional standardized test. Yet, they continue to be underrepresented in courses and careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).  Research often attributes the lack of women and girls in STEM to stereotypes and discrimination.