Who will be mother?

Babies and Bosses: Reconciling Work and Family Life

In 1995 the UN estimated the value of mothering worldwide at approximately

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US$11 trillion. The Wall Street Journal reported in 1999 that

a mother's "multi-tasking" is worth US$500,000 a year. Behind those figures lies the fact that, 30 years after women around the world clamoured for equal rights, Mom is still the parent who runs the home and brings up the kids. And whereas nannies get paid and usually receive social security, full-time mothers normally do not. Responding to such issues, Babies and Bosses: Reconciling Work and Family Life, the OECD's first report in this series, focuses on family policies in Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The surprising news is that in the last three decades, female employment has doubled in the Netherlands, from 30% to 70%, and has increased in Australia from 45% to 70%. In Denmark, where family policies are more aggressively aimed at keeping women on the job market, the female employment rate was already close to 60% and increased to 75%.