High fertility rates dependent upon prospect of combining motherhood and employment, claims report
A report by an EU funded project has recommended new policies to encourage shared responsibility for childcare after reviewing numerous studies on the effects of motherhood on employment and vice versa. The report, 'the rationale of motherhood choices: influences of employment conditions and of public policies' was compiled with the intention of examining how motherhood decisions in EU Member States are affected by labour market conditions, and how public policies can be developed at national and European levels to promote shared responsibility for parenthood among dual career couples. It was funded under the 'improving the socio-economic knowledge base' key action of the Fifth Framework Programme. As highlighted by the report, fertility levels are below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per adult female in all EU Member States. Women are also choosing to have children later in life than was previously the case. The report suggests that fertility rates will remain low unless it is made easier to combine employment and motherhood. Studies reviewed in the report demonstrate that government policies do influence women's employment - in those countries with relatively well-developed work-family policies, women tend to have higher employment rates in their 30s, while all EU countries show a correlation between the availability and quality of childcare facilities and mothers' employment rates. One of the Lisbon objectives, set by the EU's Heads of State and Government in March 2000, is to increase the employment percentage to 60 per cent for women by 2010. The report suggests that a number of countries still have a long way to go, but that success depends on more than social policies: 'as long as domestic tasks, including childcare, are viewed as a natural female domain, it will be hard for women to carve out an equal place in the labour market when compared to men.' The report authors recommend parental leave as a policy which encourages shared responsibility for childcare. It should be at least partly paid, and non-transferrable, claims the report.