Small support improves access to childcare and employment

Benefits for women with lower educational attainment. Not all families cope with the application process for childcare. Relatively minor support with the application process is enough to help families with lower educational attainment secure childcare places. A new study shows that mothers subsequently spend more working hours and that the earnings gap between mothers and fathers becomes narrower. A causal link has now been demonstrated for the first time in the case of women with relatively low school certificate who are particularly disadvantaged in the job market. In Germany, relative to comparable countries, the birth of a child still has a greater long-term impact in terms of reduced working hours and lower earnings for women. For women with lower school certificate, the gender gap in terms of time in the workforce is especially wide.