Objective: we explore migrant-native differentials in the uptake of formal and informal childcare and whether this is induced by lower demand for childcare versus differential access to (in)formal childcare compared to natives. Background: The rise in female labour market participation in recent decades has challenged parents to negotiate work and family responsibilities and organise childcare. Belgium is among the European countries with the highest availability of formal childcare, but maternal employment and uptake of childcare are substantially lower in migrant populations. Methods: Combining linked microdata from the 1991 and 2001 censuses with contextual data on childcare availability at the municipality level, we use multinomial logit models to study childcare use and type of childcare arrangement among parents having a young child in 2001. As access to childcare and maternal employment are mutually endogenous, we use estimated employment opportunities. Results: We find considerable migrant-native differentials in childcare use, as well as substantial differences between first and second generation migrants. Second generation mothers of Turkish, Moroccan and Eastern-European background are less likely than natives to use childcare, and more likely to rely on informal arrangements if childcare is used. Controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and differential availability of (in)formal childcare largely accounts for differences in childcare use, but Turkish and Moroccan women remain less likely to use care and first generation Turkish mothers remain more likely to use informal care as opposed to formal childcare. Conclusions: While differences in socio-demographic characteristics, labour market opportunities and availability of (in)formal care provide a partial explanation, partial migrant-native differentials in childcare use persist for specific groups, suggesting that other factors inhibit the uptake of formal childcare.

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Research indicates that the uptake of formal childcare for children under age 3 is lower among migrant origin parents than among native parents in most European countries, and that these differentials extend to the second generation. Despite considerable investments in formal childcare availability in many European countries, it remains unclear whether and to what extent expanding local childcare availability effectively diminishes migrant-native uptake differentials due to the lack of longitudinal research. Therefore, this study assesses for Belgium to what extent expansions in childcare availability within municipalities in the period 2010–2014 has increased the uptake of formal childcare for children under age 3 among households where the mother has a second generation Southern European, Maghreb or Turkish background, versus no migration background. We use longitudinal census and register data for Belgium that were linked to longitudinal tax return data on childcare expenses and municipality-level data on childcare availability for children aged 0–3. Our results show that Southern European and Turkish origin mothers become more likely to use formal childcare when childcare places become more widely available within their municipalities, but also that the uptake gap with native mothers persists, since there is no differential effect of increasing local childcare availability. Since local childcare expansions entail a slightly stronger increase in formal childcare uptake among Maghreb origin mothers compared to native mothers, this results in slightly decreasing migrant-native uptake gaps, although considerable uptake gaps remain. To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study addressing the relationship between local childcare availability and uptake differentials by migration background. This study can inspire avenues for follow-up research which could provide additional insight into the possible mechanisms behind the varying effects of increasing local childcare availability by migration background and the persisting migrant-native uptake gaps.

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Active labour market policies, like training, aim to increase the employability of unemployed population subgroups. Research indicates that the most vulnerable groups—such as women of migrant origin—are less likely to participate in the most effective programmes. Prior studies have established that household composition affects the labour market outcomes of women without and with a migration background. In contrast, research has not addressed the potential relevance of household composition in relation to women’s training uptake. Using hazard models and longitudinal microdata from the employment office and social security registers, we analyse the extent to which women’s household composition such as the presence and the origin of their partner or the presence of children is associated with the uptake of occupation‐specific training in Flanders (Belgium). Our results suggest that, even when we control for previously identified determinants of training uptake such as the human capital of unemployed women, training uptake in most groups varies by household composition. More specifically, the results suggest that women with a partner of non‐migrant origin show higher cumulative uptake than women with a migrant origin partner or single women, and that the presence of children in the household reduces women’s training participation. Furthermore, household composition is found to be a stronger differentiating factor in uptake for migrant origin women than for non‐migrant origin women.

While within the Kisii community in Kenya the prevalence of female genital cutting (FGC) is decreasing, the practice is increasingly being performed by health professionals. This study aims to examine these changes by identifying mothers' motives to opt for medicalised FGC, and how this choice possibly relates to other changes in the practice. We conducted face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews with mothers who had daughters around the age of cutting (8-14 years old) in Kisii county, Kenya. Transcripts of these interviews were coded and analysed thematically, applying researcher triangulation. According to mothers' accounts, the main driver behind the choice to medicalise was the belief that medicalising FGC reduces the practice's health risks. There were suggestions that medicalised FGC may be becoming the new community norm or the only option. The shift to medicalisation was examined in relation to other changes in the practice of FGC signalling how medicalisation may provide a way to increase the practice's secrecy and decrease its visibility.

Grandparents constitute an important source of childcare to many parents. Focusing on the Belgian context, this paper improves our understanding of childcare decision-making by investigating how formal childcare availability and availability of grandparents affect childcare arrangements. By means of multinomial regression models we simultaneously model uptake of formal and informal childcare by parents. Combining linked microdata from the Belgian censuses with contextual data on childcare at the level of municipalities, we consider formal childcare availability at a local level, while including a wide array of characteristics which may affect grandparental availability. Results indicate that increasing formal care crowds-out informal care as the sole care arrangement, whereas combined use of formal and informal care becomes more prevalent. Characteristics indicating a lack of grandmaternal availability increase uptake of formal care and inhibit to a lesser extent the uptake of combined formal and informal care. While increasing formal care substitutes informal care use, the lack of availability of informal care by grandparents may be problematic, particularly for those families most prone to use informal care.

De arbeidsmarkt in Vlaanderen werd de voorbije jaren gekenmerkt door een historische daling van het werkloosheidscijfer – tot 2,9% in het vierde kwartaal van 2019 – en een dienovereenkomstige toename van de arbeidsmarktkrapte (STATBEL, 2020; WSE, 2019). Ook nationaal bereikte het werkloosheidscijfer in 2019 zijn laagste peil sinds 1975 (figuur 1a). Het toenemende onevenwicht tussen vraag en aanbod leek condities te creëren die de komende jaren zouden kunnen leiden tot een langverwachte inhaalbeweging van groepen die tot dan toe werden gekenmerkt door een minder gunstige arbeidsmarktpositie, waaronder mannen – maar vooral vrouwen – met een migratieachtergrond. Het uitbreken van een pandemie in het voorjaar van 2020 lijkt dat toekomstperspectief van de ene dag op de andere op losse schroeven te hebben gezet. Een forse krimp van het bbp lijkt in 2020 onafwendbaar, en ook de vrees voor een langdurige economische recessie neemt toe (Gopinath, 2020; NBB, 2020). De discussie over arbeidsmarktkrapte heeft plaatsgemaakt voor bespiegelingen over de huidige piek in tijdelijke werkloosheid, en de mate waarin die zich op termijn zal vertalen naar stijgende werkloosheidscijfers. De gedifferentieerde impact van eerdere recessies suggereert dat ook ditmaal een toename van de werkloosheid zich disproportioneel zal laten voelen in de positie van arbeidsmarktintreders, 50-plussers, personen met een migratieachtergrond en personen met een beperking.