Cash for Care Controversy
A big step for family-work reconciliation was taken in 1985
when parliament passed a law guaranteeing young children day care, and soon
after the government began giving parents the option of pocketing a childcare
allowance and using it for private home care or to stay home themselves.
Image courtesy of Esko Kurvinen
Despite
initial praise for the
implementation of the home care allowance program, it has become a very
controversial issue and some researchers and policy makers even claim
that it
is harming women’s workforce participation more than helping. Researchers
argue that this legislation significantly influences the choices of many
mothers to opt for a position as a temporary homemaker and the “cash versus
childcare” policy is currently being held responsible for the decline in
employment reentry among mothers, offering parents strong incentives to choose
home over workforce participation. The outcome of many women choosing to stay home is creating concern regarding
gender equality and it has been firmly established that the system of home care
allowance needs to be reformed in order to combat this growing trend.References:
- Sipilä, Jorma and Johanna Korpinen. 1998. "Cash versus Child Care Services in Finland". Social Policy & Administration 32(3):263-277.
