Availability Of Child Care Research Articles

Converging mothers' employment trajectories between East and West Germany? A focus on the 2008‐childcare‐reform

AbstractObjectiveAiming to generate evidence on how contextual conditions shape individuals' opportunities and constraints and, ultimately, life courses, we focus on a period of childcare expansion in reunified Germany. We investigate differences in employment trajectories around mothers' first childbirths to identify potential East–West convergence.BackgroundDuring Germany's division (1949–1990), universal public childcare and female full‐time employment were the norm in East Germany, while the male breadwinner model was dominant in the West. These differences, although declining, persisted even decades after reunification. In 2008, a reform aimed at expanding childcare availability to facilitate mothers' employment throughout the country.MethodsWe measure East–West differences in employment trajectories around childbirth pre‐ (1990–2007) and post‐reform (2008–2021) in terms of timing, order, and duration of events over time. We use data on 359 East and 986 West German first‐time‐mothers from the German Socio‐Economic Panel and sequence analysis tools.ResultsBefore the reform, employment trajectories between East and West German mothers differed both in timing and duration of employment states. After the reform, these differences decreased, showing a general convergence in the prevalence of post‐birth part‐time employment. Nonetheless, longer maternity leave is still more prevalent among West German mothers, while East German mothers are more likely to maintain full‐time jobs.ConclusionOur findings show how policy settings and reforms shape life courses in a context‐dependent fashion. They illustrate the importance of a methodological approach that focuses on process outcomes and supports a theoretical perspective that highlights how historical time and place shape life courses.

The rhetoric and reality of social support policies: working mothers’ lived experiences of state and employer support for work-family balance in Lithuania

ABSTRACT Work and family responsibilities permeate many aspects of everyday life and this is particularly true for working mothers. The aim of our research is to analyze the role of the state and the employer in supporting work – family balance (WFB) through the lived experiences of working mothers in Lithuania, thereby shedding empirical light on the implementation of WFB policies in a post-Soviet context. Working mothers in Lithuania are unsatisfied with the idiosyncratic adoption of legal state support at the organizational level, with the domestic geographical challenges regarding childcare availability, and with the additional challenges to combine work and family facing single mothers.

His unemployment, her response, and the moderating role of welfare policies in European countries. Results from a preregistered study.

Recent changes in labour markets have increased employment instability. Under these conditions, in male breadwinner families women might increase their labour supply when their male partners become unemployed. Previous studies have extensively investigated the role played by household and individual characteristics in explaining such increases in the labour supply of women. However, studies which examine the moderating role of specific welfare policies are missing. Our study contributes to the literature by investigating the moderating effect of childcare and tax-benefit policies for the labour supply response of women following the unemployment of their partner. We focus on a sample of 24 EU member states and the UK, during the period 2009-2019, combining longitudinal microdata from EU-SILC with country-period specific policy indicators generated with the use of the tax-benefit simulation model EUROMOD, UKMOD and country-period specific indicators of childcare use. We find that women indeed respond to men's unemployment by increasing their labour supply though the response is fairly weak. We also find the response is not restricted by having children at home or availability of public childcare and does not depend on the generosity of unemployment benefits. It is, however, negatively affected by marginal tax rates.

Acceptance of Food Allergic Children in Japanese Childcare Facilities

Background: Food allergy management systems are important for childcare facilities to accept children with food allergies prescribed epinephrine (epinephrine-treated children). The relationship between the food allergy management system of a childcare facility and the willingness of children attending the facility to accept epinephrine is unclear. We believe that childcare facilities that cooperate with local health and medical institutions are more willing to accept children receiving epinephrine. Objective: This study aimed to clarify the actual situation of epinephrine acceptance in children attending childcare facilities across Japan and the factors associated with their willingness to accept them. Methods: Between May and June 2021, 686 childcare facilities across Japan were selected and surveyed. To analyze the factors related to the willingness to accept epinephrine children attending childcare facilities, the facilities were classified into 2 groups, “willingness to accept” and “no willingness to accept,” and their attributes and characteristics, food allergy management system, cooperation with relevant organizations and ability to cooperate were compared by univariate analysis. Results: A questionnaire-based survey of 162 centers revealed that 18.2% of the centers had accepted children receiving epinephrine and 74.7% were willing to accept them. There was a significant association between the willingness to accept epinephrine in children and satisfaction with the food allergy management system, availability of childcare consulting agencies, and ability to work with healthcare organizations, which differed. Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of strengthening the management system of facilities and cooperating with relevant institutions for epinephrine children to live safely in the community.

Childcare Matters and How Financial Assistance Increases Mothers’ Participation in Malaysia’s Labour Market

Malaysia is one of the ASEAN countries that is lagging behind others in terms of women’s employment level. The main reason for the lack of women in the workforce is childbearing. This study investigates the relationship between childcare matters (availability, education, quality, and cost of childcare) and mothers’ participation in the labour market. Besides, this research examined whether financial assistance relates to mothers’ employment participation. With the purposive sampling technique, the questionnaires were distributed through the online platform. Of the 513 respondents who had completed the survey, 394 were working, and 119 were not working. Besides, 276 (53.8%) respondents send their children to a registered childcare centre and 101 (19.7%) to an unregistered childcare centre. Besides, 136 (26.5%) respondents personally attend to the care of their children; this includes those who alternate child-rearing responsibilities with their partners due to differing work schedules. The binary logistic regression analysis found that childcare availability and childcare cost were significant, while childcare education and childcare quality were not. With positive and significant results, bootstrap analysis established that financial assistance is a mediator between the cost of childcare and a mother’s participation in the labour market. Based on the current situation in Malaysia, where financial assistance for childcare is limited and not comprehensive, this study suggests that the government increase the financial assistance provided. In addition, it is appropriate to conduct a study to provide evidence for the extent to which the existing financial assistance can help increase the participation of mothers in and continue to increase in the labour market.

“Missing” Women in Economics Academia in India

Existing literature has established that a diverse workforce is more creative and productive, with academia being no exception. Research on gender diversity in academia, especially economics academia so far has focused on the developed world. This article examines gender diversity in economics academia in India by analyzing the share of women in faculty positions, journal publications, and participation in a conference held annually since 2004. Unlike some developed countries, women students actually constitute the majority at the Master’s level in India. Yet, evidence suggests that women’s presence in economics academia is less than one-third in all three dimensions. Through interviews and further data analysis, the study explores factors that impinge on women’s presence in economics academia. It concludes with specific suggestions on what Indian institutions can do to ensure that women not only join and survive, but also thrive in academia. HIGHLIGHTS In India, only one-third of faculty, conference participants, and published researchers in economics are women. The drop in the representation of women occurs mainly at the doctoral and faculty levels. Norms around marriage age and desire for financial freedom affect women’s pursuit of doctoral programs. Biases in recruitment and the “two-body” problem impact women’s presence in faculty positions. Indian institutions must invest in faculty mentoring, promotion transparency, and childcare availability to foster academic success of students and faculty.

Does Working from Home Increase the Gender Wage Gap? Insights from an Italian Survey of Occupations

ABSTRACT This article investigates to what extent the working from home (WFH) feasibility of occupations can influence the gender wag gap (GWG) at the mean and along the wage distribution. Based on Oaxaca–Blinder decompositions and unconditional quantile regressions, results show that the GWG is greater among women working in an occupation with a high level of WFH feasibility. We find evidence of both sticky floor and glass ceiling effects for employees with high WFH feasibility and only a sticky floor effect for the group with low WFH feasibility. The positive association revealed between the level of WFH feasibility and the GWG appears particularly strong among older and married women employees. These results underscore that the WFH feasibility may play an important role in exacerbating future gender gaps in wages, as WFH is expected to remain a normal practice beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. HIGHLIGHTS Working from home (WFH) feasibility of occupations influences the gender wage gap (GWG) in Italy. GWG is overall wider among employees with high WFH feasibility than employees with low WFH feasibility. The GWG is higher among older and married women employees. A possible explanation is Italy’s ungenerous work–family policies and poor childcare availability. There is a need for policies aimed at regulating WFH from a gender-equality perspective.

Transition to grandparenthood and early retirement in midlife

ABSTRACT This paper aims to capture the interrelationship between two life transitions linking the generation of elderly parents and their adult children: early retirement and the transition to (grand)parenthood. A (grand)parents’ early retirement might be driven by the need to care for a grandchild. Conversely, the transition of their adult children into parenthood might be shaped by the availability of flexible, reliable, and affordable childcare provided by retired (grand)parents. Employing an event history approach, we examine the reciprocal influence that the birth of the first grandchild and early retirement have in midlife. Our study focuses on gender and socio-economic differences drawing on the SHARE multi-country dataset. Results show that becoming a grandparent increases the chances of early retirement for both men and women, slightly more among grandmothers than grandfathers. Among new grandfathers, those with higher education are more likely to go into early retirement compared to their less-educated counterparts. Early retirement, on the contrary, does not predict grandparenthood in a significant way, though there is a relatively higher chance of becoming a grandfather if the person who retired is highly educated.

Gender diversity at academic conferences—the case of the International Communication Association

Abstract Gender diversity and the lack of women in leadership in academia have been issues of academic interest for decades. However, little is known about gender diversity at academic conferences as an essential aspect of academia. We investigated 86,719 contributions to International Communication Association (ICA) conferences over the past 18 years with regard to female and male authorship and how it changed following the introduction of childcare, during the global pandemic, and under female division leadership. Lastly, we analyzed divisions/interest groups, authors’ gender, and national affiliation. We found that the proportion of female authors is high in all conference years and is representative of ICA membership. We found differences in how women and men are represented across divisions, countries of author affiliation, based on the availability of childcare, and during the global pandemic. We discuss implications at societal, organizational, and individual levels.

Economic resources, childcare services, and son preference: a conjoint analysis of fertility potential in China

AbstractUsing a randomized experiment that we designed for the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey, this study conducts a conjoint analysis to explore the fertility potential among Chinese adults. We examine the separate impacts of different factors and their heterogeneity across social groups. The results suggest that fertility potential is context-dependent. In addition, greater economic resources and availability of childcare significantly increase fertility potential. However, preferences in terms of the care provider, family versus the market, vary by gender, educational level, and desired number of children. Notably, we also find that son preference no longer has a significant effect on fertility potential in China. In light of China’s current low fertility, our study suggests that childbearing behavior will become increasingly differentiated by socioeconomic status. Fertility-enhancing policies should focus on supplementing economic resources and improving access to childcare.

Migrants' choices pertaining to informal childcare in Italy and France: A complex relationship between the origin and destination countries

AbstractChildcare is a need that inevitably emerges once migrants establish themselves and their families in their destination country. However, migrants' use of informal childcare still constitutes an under‐researched phenomenon. Using data from the ‘Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens’ survey (2011–2012) for Italy and the ‘Trajectoires et Origines’ survey (2008–2009) for France, this paper examines differences between migrants living in the two countries in terms of their use of informal childcare and, more specifically, their informal childcare arrangements. We employ a comparative analysis because we hypothesised that parental choices would depend on the migrants' region of origin, the institutional context of their destination country and the interplay between these two elements. The results suggest that migrants' choices stem from a complex relationship between the norms and beliefs of the country of origin and those in the destination country, which are generally characterised by different family policies and levels of childcare availability. We show that the use of informal childcare is higher among migrants in Italy than it is among those in France, even among migrants from the same region of origin. The results also suggest that the use of particular informal childcare arrangements varies by region of origin regardless of destination country, supporting the hypothesis that migrants' cultural values and beliefs play a critical role in determining childcare arrangements. Finally, we demonstrate that household composition and parents' occupational status strongly influence migrants' childcare choices.

Child Care as a Barrier to Perinatal Health Care in Illinois.

Within a multi-state Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network addressing the social determinants of health during 2017-2020, the Illinois Department of Public Health led an exploratory project to understand how the availability of child care affects maternal health care utilization. The project assessed whether lack of child care was a barrier to perinatal health care utilization and gathered information on health facility practices, resources, and policies related to child care DESCRIPTION: TWe surveyed (1) birthing hospitals (n = 98), (2) federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) (n = 40), and (3) a convenience sample of postpartum persons (n = 60). Each group reported that child care concerns negatively affect health care utilization (66% of birthing hospitals, 50% of FQHCs, and 32% of postpartum persons). Among postpartum persons, the most common reported reason for missing a visit due to child care issues was "not feeling comfortable leaving my child(ren) in the care of others" (22%). The most common child care resource reported by facilities was "staff watching children" (53% of birthing hospitals, 75% of FQHCs); however, most did not have formal child care policies or dedicated space for children. Fewer than half of FQHCs (43%) discussed child care at the first prenatal visit. The project prompted the Illinois Title V program to add a child care-related strategy to their 2021-2025 Action Plan, providing opportunity for further examination of practices and policies that could be implemented to reduce child care barriers to perinatal care. Systematically addressing child care in health care settings may improve health care utilization among birthing/postpartum persons.

Gender norms and the child penalty: evidence from the Dutch bible belt

ABSTRACT There are substantial gender gaps in earnings once children are born in many developed countries, despite similar education levels of men and women and accessible childcare facilities. I examine whether gender norms are a driver of women’s higher labour market costs of having children using Dutch administrative data. Exploiting large local variation in gender norms in the Netherlands, I compare parents from the Dutch bible belt, where gender norms are on average less egalitarian, with parents from other regions in the Netherlands, where gender norms are more egalitarian. My findings show that having children leads an about 30% larger earnings decrease for women in the bible belt, mainly driven by a larger reduction in working hours. I rule out that differences in pre-child parental characteristics and institutions such as childcare availability explain this result and argue that different gender norms in these two areas likely explain this finding.

O.3.3-3 Impact and lessons learned from 18 Years of BIG – a project to promote physical activity among women in difficult life situations

Abstract Purpose Since 2005, practitioners and researchers have developed the BIG-project (“Movement as investment in health”), a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project that aims to empower socially disadvantaged women to engage in physical activity (PA) and exercise. These women are often unemployed, single mothers or belong to an ethnic minority facing barriers to exercise such as high registration fees, no availability of childcare or culturally insensitive programs. To date, the project has been scaled to 23 communities. The long project duration and multiple project site provide an excellent opportunity to investigate the long-term impacts of CBPR on PA promotion. The follow-up study of BIG (NU-BIG) examines the long-term effects on individual and structural levels at the project sites. Methods NU-BIG uses a mixed method approach. About 389 women who participate in BIG exercise programs completed a survey. Additionally, qualitative interviews, focus groups and a photo-voice study were conducted with approximately 45 women who take part in the exercise program and those who are working in the different city-administrations to organize BIG courses. Results 15 communities were able to maintain project activities up to 18 years, while some communities ceased all activities. Effects of BIG at the structural level include low barrier exercise classes and planning groups, women only pool hours, local networks to support the project, cooking classes and social gatherings for women. The BIG-project reaches the addressed women and empowers them by increasing their PA levels, mental well-being, self-efficacy, and social network. Conclusions BIG demonstrates that CBPR can have a long-term impact on PA promotion at the individual and structural level. The participatory approach of BIG is key to its success. By involving women in planning, it is possible to tailor all activities to their needs and thus reach them, contradicting the label that they are “hard to reach” for health promotion. Through the involvement of local stakeholders e.g. political decision makers or chairs of sports clubs it is possible to achieve change over time, however this can also make BIG vulnerable to political interests and log-rolling.

Employment effects of childcare availability: Evidence from European Union

There are several factors that contribute to the success of a society. Economic and demographic developments are known as important drivers, while the role of parental employment as a key component is sometimes overlooked. This paper focuses on the effects of childcare availability on female and male employment in the European Union regions. Regional differences may be significant, therefore separate panel regression models (with economic and demographic control variables) are established for regions in old and new member states, and the results are compared across different levels of male and female educational attainment. The findings suggest that there is a considerable difference between old and new members states. The availability of early childhood educational development significantly increases employment both for female and male employees with higher education levels in new members states, while this effect is not significant in old member states. For male employees with relatively low education levels, the availability of early childhood educational development does have a significant effect on employment both in old and new member states but this does not hold for female employees with lower education levels.

The future of the labour force: a quantitative examination of the drivers of female labor force participation and total fertility rate in developed economies

ABSTRACT Recent sluggish economic growth in developed countries has become a cause for concern regarding the long-term sustainability of the global economy. Continuous declines in the total fertility rate (TFR) constitute an essential factor in stagnant economic growth in developed countries. In this paper, we utilize fixed and random effect models to examine the relationships of TFR with putative TFR determinants in G7 countries from 1980 to 2020. Our findings support the societal response hypothesis wherein the relationship between TFR and female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) is posited to be stable and positive. Furthermore, the present study confirms a positive relationship of crude marriage rate (CMR) and market childcare availability (MktCC) with TFR. A negative relationship between the ageing population (AGE) and TFR was observed, consistent with broad concerns regarding the impending economic impacts of population ageing in developed countries.

Motherhood, Childcare and Work: Exploring the Multilayered Challenges of Finding Paid Work among Young Mothers in South Africa

ABSTRACT Most young South African mothers continue to face obstacles that impact their decision to participate in paid work. The responsibility to provide care to young children is one of the obstacles that influence their labour force participation. Drawing on qualitative data from 20 young mothers, this study explores how the availability and nature of childcare affects the ability to take part in paid work among young mothers. The findings suggest that most mothers with young children are unemployed and mainly rely on social grants. Many of them could not afford to pay for childcare; hence, providing childcare remained their responsibility with support from close family members and neighbours. This study highlights the need for policies and interventions aimed at providing subsidised childcare for poor mothers that could relieve the burden of unpaid work as well as encourage participation in paid work and thus narrow the gender-income gap.

Using Quality Improvement to Design Early Childhood Services Navigation in Primary Care.

We used the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Model for Improvement. Interventions included system changes in partnership with ECE agencies (eg, interactive map of subsidized preschool options, streamlined enrollment forms), case management with families, and population-based approaches to understand families' needs and the program's overall impact. We plotted the number of monthly facilitated referrals and the percentage of referrals enrolled on run and control charts. We used standard probability-based rules to identify special causes. Facilitated referrals increased from 0 to 29 per month and remained above 15. The percentage of enrolled referrals increased from 30% to 74% in 2018, then decreased to 27% in 2020 when childcare availability declined during the pandemic. Our innovative ECE partnership improved access to high-quality ECE. Interventions could be adopted in part or whole by other clinical practices or WIC offices to equitably improve early childhood experiences for low-income families and racial minorities.

Do grandparents really matter? The effect of regular grandparental childcare on the second-birth transition

Abstract In the last five decades, almost all European countries have experienced a decline in actual fertility, but not in desired fertility. The incompatibility of motherhood and paid work has been identified as one of the main drivers of women’s unrealized fertility desires. Regular grandparental childcare might reduce mothers’ work–family conflicts, increasing their chances of having a second birth. An extensive literature has estimated the role of grandparenting in adult children’s fertility. However, less attention has been devoted to the direct role of regular grandparental childcare, which is among the main resources in women’s reconciliation strategies. This article contributes to this debate by estimating the causal effect of regular grandparental childcare on women’s chances of having a second child. Using data from the first five waves of the Millennium Cohort Study, I implement an instrumental variable approach. I observe a strong and positive effect of regular grandparental childcare on women’s likelihood of having a second birth. This effect remains strong and positive net of women’s partnership status and income and educational levels. These results highlight the importance of the affordability and the availability of childcare for the decision to have a second child and the need for more supportive childcare policies.

The crisis of maternal and child health in Afghanistan

BackgroundThe Taliban takeover in August 2021 brought global economic sanctions, economic collapse, and draconian restrictions on women’s freedom of movement, work, political participation, and education. This study examined Afghan health workers’ experiences and perceptions of availability and quality of maternal and child health care since then.MethodsWe conducted a survey, using a convenience sample, of health workers from urban, semi-rural, and rural public and private clinics and hospitals across the 34 provinces, covering changes in working conditions, safety, health care access and quality, maternal and infant mortality as well as perceptions about the future of maternal and child health and health care. Interviews were conducted with a subsample of health workers to further explore their perceptions of changes in working conditions, quality of care, and health outcomes since the Taliban takeover.Results131 Afghan practicing health care workers completed the survey. The majority were women (80%) working in facilities located in urban areas. Most female health workers (73.3%) reported that they have not always been safe when going to and from work; 81% because of harassment by the Taliban when they did not have male accompaniment. Almost half of the respondents (42.9%) reported a decrease in availability of maternal and child care and 43.8% stated that conditions for providing care were “worse” or “much worse” than before. Almost one-third (30.2%) indicated that changed working conditions negatively impacted their ability to provide quality care, and 26.2% reported an increase in obstetric and newborn complications. Health workers also reported (38.1% )an increase in sick child needs and an increase in child malnutrition (57.1%0. 57.1% reported decreases in work attendance and 78.6% a decrease in morale and motivation. Qualitative interviews (n = 10) of a subsample of survey participants expanded on these findings.ConclusionThe combination of economic collapse, lack of sustained donor support for health care and Taliban interference with human rights has severely compromised access and quality of maternal and child health care. Strong and concerted international pressure on the Taliban to respect women and children rights to essential health service is critical for the future of the Afghan population.