Child Care in Poland before, during, and after the Transition: Still a Women's Business

Abstract

This article gives a historical overview of changes in child care policies in Poland and analyzes their influence on gender equality/inequality over the last period. Under the Communist regime, these policies were subordinated to economic interests and characterized by contradictory trends. The measures enforced during this period in the field of public child care facilities and of child care leave reveal that, despite a progressive constitution, Polish women were treated as second-class citizens. However, even a market economy and massive privatizations have reinforced this trend. Women are still seen primarily as mothers and suffer discrimination in the labor market. In order to meet the conditions of integration into the European Union, a more egalitarian framework was adopted, but at the same time, the Polish state made drastic cuts in welfare expenditures. Thus, the family allowances look more like a “safety net” for the poorest than a real family-policy system. Collective care institutions progressively disappear: today, they cover only 2 percent of children under the age of three. This affects women first of all, as they are held responsible for taking care of children. The weight of the Church and the traditional point of view concerning women’s place in society brake any movement of emancipation, and most women still consider that their main duty lies in their role as mothers.