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Title: | The provision of childcare services : a comparative review of 30 European countries |
Authors: | Plantenga, Janneke Remery, Chantal Camilleri-Cassar, Frances |
Authors: | European Commission’s Expert Group on Gender and Employment Issues (EGGE) |
Keywords: | Women -- Employment -- European Union countries Child care services -- European Union countries Child care -- European Union countries Child care services -- Government policy -- European Union countries |
Issue Date: | 2009 |
Publisher: | European Commission. Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal opportunities. G1 Unit |
Citation: | Janneke, P., & Chantal, R. (2009). The provision of childcare services: a comparative review of 30 European countries. European Commission’s Expert Group on Gender and Employment Issues (EGGE), European Commission Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Lu-xembourg. |
Abstract: | In recent decades, childcare services have become a matter of serious public concern. Affordable and good-quality childcare services may improve the reconciliation of work and family life and thus foster labour market participation and gender equality. Childcare facilities may also provide an important answer to declining fertility rates, by lowering the cost of childbearing in terms of labour market and career opportunities. Finally there is a growing tendency to see childcare services from a social pedagogical perspective. In this perspective the main policy rationale is no longer the reconciliation of work and care, but rather the contribution of childcare services to child development and socioeconomic integration. The importance of providing childcare services has also been recognised at the EU level. At the Barcelona Summit in 2002, some explicit conclusions and targets were defined with regard to the provision of childcare services. Confirming the goal of full employment, the European Council agreed that Member States should remove disincentives to female participation in the labour market and strive to provide childcare by 2010 to at least 90 % of children between 3 years old and the mandatory school age and at least 33 % of children under 3 years of age. The importance of these targets has been reaffirmed as recently as 2008 in the employment guidelines (2008–10) adopted by the Council. |
URI: | https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/96114 |
Appears in Collections: | Scholarly Works - FacLawLHM |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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The provision of childcare services.pdf | 1.92 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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