In Mexico, where grandmothers are a key source of childcare for families, their death results in a reduction in the employment rate of the mother, who disproportionately assumes the responsibility of childcare. In this VoxDevTalk, Miguel Ángel Talamas Marcos outlines research in Mexico, which reveals that grandmothers' deaths reduce mothers' employment rate by 12 percentage points, while not affecting fathers' employment rate. This negative effect on mothers' employment is smaller where public daycare is more available, or private daycare or schools are more affordable.