In
many countries in Europe and
in Canada, family leave policies
grant parents paid time off to
care for their young children,
and labor market regulations
go a long way toward ensuring
that work does not overwhelm
family obligations. In addition,
early childhood education and
care programs guarantee access
to high-quality care for their
children. In most of these countries,
policies encourage gender equality
by strengthening mothers' ties
to employment and encouraging
fathers to spend more time caregiving
at home." In sharp contrast,
Gornick and Meyers show how in
the United States - an economy
with high labor force participation
among both fathers and mothers
- parents are left to craft private
solutions to the society-wide
dilemma of "who will care
for the children?" Parents
- overwhelmingly mothers - must
loosen their ties to the workplace
to care for their children; workers
are forced to negotiate with
their employers, often unsuccessfully,
for family leave and reduced
work schedules; and parents must
purchase care of dubious quality,
at high prices, from consumer
markets. By leaving child care
solutions up to hard-pressed
working parents, these private
solutions exact a high price
in terms of gender inequality
in the workplace and at home,
family stress and economic insecurity,
and - not least - child well-being.
Gornick and Meyers show that
it is possible - based on the
experiences of other countries
- to enhance child well-being
and to increase gender equality
by promoting more extensive and
egalitarian family leave, work-time,
and child care policies.
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