Babies and Bosses - Reconciling Work and Family Life: A Synthesis of Findings for OECD Countries

Key outcomes by country | Country specific highlights |
News releases and press material | Selection of tables and charts
How to obtain this publication | Previous Edition Websites

See also more recently published in 2011: Doing Better for Families

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ISBN: 9789264032446

Publication date: 29 November 2007

Finding a suitable work/family life balance is a challenge that all parents face. Many parents and children in OECD countries are happy with their existing work and care outcomes, while many others feel seriously constrained in one way or another. Some people would like to have (more) children, but do not see how they could match that commitment with their employment situation. Other parents are happy with the number of children in their family, but would like to work more. Yet other parents who are happy with their family situation, may wish to work at different hours, or reduce hours worked to spend more time with their children, but do not because they cannot afford to take a pay cut, or because they do not want to put their career prospects at risk.

If parents cannot achieve their desired work/family life balance, not only is their welfare lower but economic development is also curtailed through reduced labour supply by parents. A reduction of birth rates has obvious implications for future labour supply as well as for the financial sustainability of social protection systems. As parenting is also crucial to child development, and thus the shape of future societies, policy makers have many reasons to want to help parents find a better work/family balance.

The Babies and Bosses reviews of work and family reconciliation analysed policies and family outcomes in Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands (OECD, 2002); Austria, Ireland and Japan (OECD, 2003); New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland (OECD, 2004); and Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom (OECD, 2005). This report, the last in the series, synthesises these findings and extends the scope to include other OECD countries. Based on OECD-wide indicators, it examines tax/benefit policies, parental leave systems, child and out-of-school-hours care support, and workplace practices that help determine parental labour market outcomes and family formation across the OECD.

Key Outcomes by Country compared to OECD average

Click on the country name in the table below to see that country's results.
Click on (H) for country highlights (available for 6 countries).

Australia ((H))	Austria	Belgium	Canada	Czech Rep.	Denmark
Finland	France	Germany (H)	Greece	Hungary	Iceland
Ireland	Italy (H)	Japan (H)	Korea (H)	Luxembourg	Mexico
Netherlands	New Zealand	Norway	Poland	Portugal	Slovak Rep.
Spain	Sweden	Switzerland	Turkey	United Kingdom (H)	United States

Selection of tables and charts (.xls)

Key indicators on birth rates, female employment and child poverty
Table 2.2. Selected family statistics, OECD countries
Table 3.2. Maternal employment rates, women age 15-64, 2005
Chart 4.1. Family spending in cash, services and tax measures, in percentage of GDP, in 2003
Chart 5.1. Compared to maternity leave, income support during parental
leave is limited
Chart 6.2. For children aged three and over childcare participation rates are generally high
Table 7.1. European workers often have seven weeks of paid holidays per annum