Speeding Up or Holding Back?: Institutional Factors in the Development of Childcare Provision in Spain

Abstract

This paper looks at childcare provision in Spain from the perspective of policies for the reconciliation of work and family life. The goal is to understand how social care Á and childcare in particular Á has been placed within the different policy domains of the welfare state, and how this condition affects its opportunities for policy development and innovation. As a point of reference, the study takes into consideration the recent EU benchmark regarding childcare provision in the context of the European Employment Strategy. The investigation looks at the impact of the institutional configuration of the welfare system and the labour market on the development of childcare provision and policies for the reconciliation of work and family. The paper suggests that, given a strong policy legacy in family policy and social services, childcare provision is expanding under the decentralized education system although it has not been articulated in terms of policies for the reconciliation of work and family life, which impacts on female employment. Legislative changes improving the conditions of female employees who give birth have recently been introduced in labour law, although the structure of the labour market and practices in employment relations pose obstacles to their effective implementation.

A real job? Regulating household work: The case of Spain

“…The incorporation of women into the labour market, especially among the youngest cohorts, leaves a gap in the supply of informal carers, aggravated by the lack of flexible working arrangements, such as part-time work (Ibáñez, 2011) and the absence of effective policies for the reconciliation of work and family life (León, 2007;Salido, 2011;Valiente, 1996). Population ageing certainly puts a further strain on the future viability of this 'familistic' model.…”

The Transformation of Care in European Societies

“…However, some change has taken place in the last decade, when these welfare states started to support public day care for children Salido, 2011;Ranci and Pavolini, 2010;León, 2007). However, some change has taken place in the last decade, when these welfare states started to support public day care for children Salido, 2011;Ranci and Pavolini, 2010;León, 2007).…”

“…Among the countries with a high degree of generosity of family policy towards public day care for children under three, Denmark has a relatively high employment rate of mothers of children under three, whereas Germany and Finland have a relatively low rate of employment of such women. As shown in empirical studies for Spain and Italy (Ranci and Pavolini, 2010;Flaquer and Escobedo, 2009;León, 2007;, for child care they depend instead in larger part on other child care solutions such as grandparents or other relatives, and, though to a lesser degree, on the care of hired child-minders, sometimes migrant women, in the family household. Table 4.3 shows that women in these countries have a relatively high rate of employment, but use formal full-time day care to a relatively low degree.…”

The unattainable politics of child benefits policy in Spain

“…Femocrats advocated women's individual rights and showed reluctance to raise issues regarding specific instruments designed as family policies, which were seen as supportive of traditional elements of the Spanish society. Feminists rejected any form of family policy (León, 2007;Meil, 1994) and sought to prevent any possible advancement. As a former Minister of Social Affairs, Matilde Fernández, reports, feminists ‛wanted to act politically on behalf of women alone, and not in the name of women as part of their families' (cited in Valiente, 1996: 108).…”