Friday, June 15, 2007
Policies that Support Working Mothers, Support the Economy
"Gender Inequality, Growth and Global Ageing", an economics study by Kevin Daly for the investment banking firm, Goldbach Sachs, demonstrates that increased access to subsidized child care improves the likelihood that women will work and have children, thus ultimately improving a country's GDP.
The study analyzes employment rates in the United States, Japan and various regions of Europe. When the employment gap between the number of women and the number of men working decreases, a country's GDP and fertility rates increase. High employment rates for women improve a country's current economy and have long-term benefits for pension funds and future labour markets. In countries where dual earner families are heavily taxed and child care is expensive, women chose between having children or having a career.
How would Canada's child care system do in comparison to the systems of counties in the Goldbach Sachs study?
Presently Canadian parents pay twice as much for child care compared to their European peers. In fact, the Organization for Economic Co-Operative Development (OECD) recommends that Canada increase its investment in child care, which is currently 0.2% of the GDP; the OECD average is 0.7%.
The OECD also reports that Canada's child care subsidy system is far too complicated, accessible to only 22% of single-parent families. When the average sole-support Canadian mother brings home $30,000, some simply cannot work because they can't get subsidies or afford to pay child care without them.
What's more, even when families can afford child care, there's little care available. According to the Child Care Human Resources Sector Council (CCHRSC) only 10% of kids under 12 in Ontario have access to a regulated space.
It's important also to consider the paid child-caregivers themselves. Almost all are women. Their average income ranges from $15,000 to $21,000 -- half the national average income.
For more statistics and resources, see ACTEW's new factsheet on childcare.
The study analyzes employment rates in the United States, Japan and various regions of Europe. When the employment gap between the number of women and the number of men working decreases, a country's GDP and fertility rates increase. High employment rates for women improve a country's current economy and have long-term benefits for pension funds and future labour markets. In countries where dual earner families are heavily taxed and child care is expensive, women chose between having children or having a career.
How would Canada's child care system do in comparison to the systems of counties in the Goldbach Sachs study?
Presently Canadian parents pay twice as much for child care compared to their European peers. In fact, the Organization for Economic Co-Operative Development (OECD) recommends that Canada increase its investment in child care, which is currently 0.2% of the GDP; the OECD average is 0.7%.
The OECD also reports that Canada's child care subsidy system is far too complicated, accessible to only 22% of single-parent families. When the average sole-support Canadian mother brings home $30,000, some simply cannot work because they can't get subsidies or afford to pay child care without them.
What's more, even when families can afford child care, there's little care available. According to the Child Care Human Resources Sector Council (CCHRSC) only 10% of kids under 12 in Ontario have access to a regulated space.
It's important also to consider the paid child-caregivers themselves. Almost all are women. Their average income ranges from $15,000 to $21,000 -- half the national average income.
For more statistics and resources, see ACTEW's new factsheet on childcare.
Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Resources_and_Research
