Apologies for cross-posting
Babies and Bosses: OECD Recommendations to help families balance work and
family life
A new OECD report reviews family-friendly policies in Canada, Finland,
Sweden and the United Kingdom and makes recommendations to further ensure the
well-being of parents and children. This fourth volume in the series of
Babies and Bosses urges Canada and the UK to create more, and more
affordable, childcare to help parents juggle work and family commitments. At
the other end of the spectrum, the report argues that Finland needs to
restrict use of long leave periods, and commends Sweden's excellent family
support measures, but warns the government to control costs.
Families looking for a way to balance work and life-style commitments may
choose not to have children or, if they do, not to work. Governments need to
get family-friendly policies right if they are to reduce poverty and promote
child development and gender equity, underpin economic growth and bolster
pension systems.
Finland and Sweden started to invest in family-friendly policies more than 30
years ago, while in Canada and the UK widespread work-family policies are
much more recent. Finland and Sweden have policies which provide a continuum
of support for parents until their children are in their teens: flexible
parental leave, affordable high-quality childcare, and reduced working hours
for parents with young children. As this approach is expensive, Canada and
the UK have generally opted for lower tax rates over more social service
costs, though both have recently started to expand the help they give to
parents.
In all four countries the labour market is healthy for women: three out of
four women between the ages of 25 - 54 hold down jobs, though there are
substantial differences in the working hours of mothers. Full-time jobs are
the norm in Canada, Finland and Sweden, whereas women in the UK often work
part-time. The wage gaps between males and females are similar too, and are
higher than the OECD average for women in the high-wage bracket.
For details about the OECD's policy recommendations, see the country notes on
Canada,
http://www.oecd.org/document/35/0,2340,en_2649_201185_34916387_1_1_1_1,00.htm
l
Finland,
http://www.oecd.org/document/0/0,2340,en_2649_201185_34916736_1_1_1_1,00.html
Sweden
http://www.oecd.org/document/62/0,2340,en_2649_201185_34916798_1_1_1_1,00.htm
l
and the United Kingdom
http://www.oecd.org/document/39/0,2340,en_2649_201185_34916903_1_1_1_1,00.htm
l
A selection of tables and charts from the publication is available for
download at
http://www.oecd.org/document/35/0,2340,en_2649_201185_34905443_1_1_1_1,00.htm
l and information on how to purchase the publication is also available by
following the links on this page
|