Despite nursery costs that are around 60% higher than in the oecd, a club of mostly rich countries , employment rates for British mothers with children under 15 are in the middle of the pack.
盡管英國的育兒成本比主要由富裕國家組成的經(jīng)濟(jì)合作與發(fā)展組織的國家高出60%左右,但孩子在15歲以下的英國母親的就業(yè)率卻處于中等水平。
This suggests that mothers who really want to work are finding a way to do so.
這表明,真正想要工作的母親正在尋找一種方法來做到這一點(diǎn)。
But there is also plenty of evidence that constraints are an issue.
但也有大量證據(jù)表明,限制是一個問題。
Three in five non-working mothers say that they would prefer to work, given the right child care.
五分之三的沒有工作的母親表示,如果孩子得到適當(dāng)?shù)恼疹櫍齻兏敢夤ぷ鳌?/p>
Families had to fork out an average of 260 pounds ($320) a week in 2021 for 50 hours of nursery care for a child under two, according to a survey by Coram Family and Childcare, a charity.
根據(jù)科拉姆家庭和兒童保育慈善機(jī)構(gòu)的一項調(diào)查,2021年,每個家庭要為兩歲以下的兒童提供50小時的托兒服務(wù),平均每周要支付260英鎊(320美元)。
A tenth of households with a child under five report difficulty meeting such costs.
有五歲以下孩子的家庭中,有十分之一的家庭表示支付不起此類費(fèi)用。
Borrowing to cover child-care bills is a nice idea in theory, but uncertainty over their future earnings puts many people off.
從理論上講,借錢來支付育兒費(fèi)用是一個好主意,但他們未來收入的不確定性讓許多人望而卻步。
As well as price, availability is a problem.
除了價格,供應(yīng)也是一個問題。
Just 68% of local authorities in England report having enough child-care provision to serve parents who work full time.
英格蘭只有68%的地方政府有足夠的托兒服務(wù)來照顧全職工作的父母。
And the benefits that could flow from evening out the gender imbalance in child care could be pretty large.
而且,平衡兒童保育方面的性別失衡可能會帶來相當(dāng)大的好處。
The latest data suggest that the employment rate for mothers with dependent children is around 18 percentage points lower than that for fathers.
最新數(shù)據(jù)顯示,撫養(yǎng)子女的家庭,母親的就業(yè)率比父親的就業(yè)率低約18個百分點(diǎn)。
Compared with other countries, Britain has a relatively high share of mothers in part-time work.
與其他國家相比,英國母親從事兼職工作的比例相對較高。
One recent study estimated the gains from shuffling men and women according to aptitude, pulling productive women into work and kicking unproductive men out.
最近的一項研究估計了根據(jù)能力對男性和女性進(jìn)行調(diào)整的好處,讓有生產(chǎn)力的女性去工作,把沒有生產(chǎn)力的男性踢出局。
Astonishingly, it calculated that Britain’s average output per worker could be as much as 30% higher.
令人驚訝的是,根據(jù)它的計算,英國每個工人的平均產(chǎn)出可能高出30%。
Cheaper child care could help growth, in other words, but policies would need to be well-designed to target genuinely constrained parents and to stop costs spiralling out of control.
換句話說,更便宜的育兒成本可能有助于經(jīng)濟(jì)增長,但政策需要精心設(shè)計,針對那些確實受到約束的父母,并防止成本失控。
Generous German arrangements do not come cheap.
慷慨的德國育兒成本并不便宜。
Mr Johnson has thus far been focusing on regulatory barriers to becoming a childminder and on child-to-carer ratios.
到目前為止,約翰遜一直專注于掃清托兒所的監(jiān)管障礙,以及兒童與托兒所的比例。
Yet deregulation may have only a marginal effect, and points to another problem.
然而,放松監(jiān)管可能只會產(chǎn)生微乎其微的效果,并指向另一個問題。
Christine Farquharson of the ifs says that helping mums into work requires child care that is flexible and offers long hours.
IFS的克里斯汀·法克哈森說,幫助媽媽們找到工作需要靈活的、長時間的育兒服務(wù)。
But giving children the best start in life means shorter, structured days full of interaction.
但給孩子們?nèi)松詈玫拈_始意味著更短、更有條理、充滿互動的日子。