Early childhood education and child care – Central to women’s equality

To mark International Women’s Day 2009, CRRU is updating our 2006 issue file on ECEC and Canadian women.

It was on International Women’s Day 1986 that the federal government released the report of the Task Force on Child Care (the “Katie Cooke Task Force”) that called for a universal system of child care – co-funded by federal and provincial governments. The Task Force report recommended that the system be designed and managed by the provinces under national standards, have affordable parent fees, and gradually increase in supply until 2001 when it would serve all children.

The Task Force report followed—by more than a decade—the first federal report calling for a national child care program as an “urgent matter”. The 1970 report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women had made 167 recommendations including one to establish a “national day-care Act.” Although most of the recommendations were at least partially implemented, the recommendation for a national childcare program was one of the few that were not put at least partly in place.

The Cooke Task Force’s benchmark year – 2001 -- and almost another decade after that have come and gone and child care remains a major challenge for many Canadian families; still today only a minority of Canadian children have access to regulated child care.

In 2008, a UNICEF report card on early childhood education and childcare provision rated Canada as tied for last among 25 affluent countries, achieving only 1 of 10 benchmarks for access, quality and financing. Meanwhile, the labour force participation rates of women with children have risen dramatically over the last 25 years in Canada. In 2005, 76% of mothers with a youngest child aged 3-5 years were in the paid labour force. When compared to other OECD countries, Canada’s labour force participation rates of mothers are high. Working mothers face a double workload in society as they face the difficult challenge of balancing work and family responsibilities. (See Trends and Analysis 2007 for more information about Canadian mothers in the paid labour force.)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948) proclaims that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” In 1979, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – an international agreement that Canada ratified. As a signatory, Canada pledged “to ensure the equal right of men and women to enjoy all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights”. In its evaluation of Canada’s progress in January 2003, the UN Status of Women Commission recommended that Canada should “expand affordable child care facilities under all governments and…report, with nationwide figures, on demand, availability and affordability of child care in its next report” (Paragraph 380). As Canada’s compliance with CEDAW comes up before the Commission again, a complaint against Canada referencing lack of progress on child care is being prepared by women’s groups.
Access to reliable early childhood education and child care is central to women’s equality. Rosalie Abella, in the 1984 Royal Commission on Equality in Employment, said that, “child care is the ramp that provides equal access to the workforce for mothers”. Women today continue to recognize the importance of quality ECEC. In a recent interview with the BBC, barrister and wife of the former British Prime Minister, Cherie Blair described "well-funded, well-resourced child care" as the key to gender equality in the workplace.

Access to ECEC is also critical for low-income women to overcome poverty and isolation. And finally, many women not working outside the home want quality experiences for their children too – all women want their children to have opportunities for developmental, enriching learning experiences in safe environments.

Today comparative research and analysis shows that ECEC programs designed around children’s interests, development and wellbeing can also support women’s equality – if they are well-designed and publicly supported. Programs that are universally accessible and of high-quality can satisfy the multiple goals of maternal employment, child development, social solidarity, social and human capital development—and both women’s and children’s rights.
This Issue File collects selected readings that describe and document the importance of accessible ECEC to women’s economic equality and to their opportunities to fully engage in society. This Issue File is organized into five sections:

• - online contextual information about the conditions facing women in Canada;
• - online documents about Canada’s international commitments and ECEC;
• - online documents that feature the importance of ECEC for women’s equality;
• - print resources; and
• - useful websites for additional readings.

Trends and analysis 2007: Early childhood education and care in Canada
(see “demographic context”)
SOURCE Childcare Resource and Research Unit, 2007 / In pdf

From she to she: Changing patterns of women in the Canadian labour force
by Roy, Francine
SOURCE Statistics Canada, June 15, 2006 / In pdf

Women in Canada
SOURCE The Daily, Statistics Canada, March 7, 2006 / In html

Trends and analysis: Early childhood education and care in Canada 2004
(see “demographic context”)
SOURCE Childcare Resource and Research Unit, 2005 / In pdf

Women in Canada: Work chapter updates 2003
SOURCE Statistics Canada, March 24, 2004 / In pdf

Women in Canada: Work chapter updates 2002
SOURCE Statistics Canada, March 24, 2003 / In pdf

CANADA’S INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS AND ELCC

What does CEDAW mean for child care in Canada?
SOURCE  Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada, 1 Mar 09

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Canada
SOURCE United Nations. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. 7 Nov 08 / In pdf

Women’s inequality in Canada: Submission of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the occasion of the Committee's review of Canada's 6th & 7th reports
SOURCE Feminist Alliance for International Action, 1 Sep 08 / In pdf

Canada’s commitment to equality: A gender analysis of the last ten federal budgets (1995-2004)
SOURCE Feminist Alliance for International Action, 08 Feb 05 / In pdf

A decade of going backwards: Canada in the Post-Beijing era
SOURCE Feminist Alliance for International Action, 01 Jan 05 / In pdf or doc

British Columbia moves backwards on women's equality: Submission of the B.C. CEDAW group to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on the occasion of the Committee’s review of Canada’s 5th report
SOURCE Feminist Alliance for International Action, 23 Jan 03 / In pdf

Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Twenty-eighth session (13-31 January 2003)
SOURCE UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Jan 03 / In pdf

Canada's failure to act: Women's inequality deepens: Submission of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on the occasion of the Committee's review of Canada's 5th report
SOURCE Feminist Alliance for International Action, 01 Jan 03

Women and the equality deficit: The impact of restructuring Canada’s social programs
by Day, Shelagh & Brodsky, Gwen
SOURCE Status of Women Canada, 1998 / In pdf and html
Also available in French.

Note: For more about Canada’s international commitments on women’s equality, see:
Feminist Alliance for International Action

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This list in not intended to be an exhaustive examination of this topic; for a more comprehensive list, search the Childcare Resource and Research Unit resource library catalogue Childcare Information Resource Collection (CIRC).