WORKING WOMEN AND CHILDCARE: WALES IN THE NINETIES

1994 is the International year of the Family. In Britain, at least, this event has coincided with wide public debate (and moral panic) over a number of issues relating to ‘family’ life. Aspects of this debate are concerned with the changing relationship between the family and the labour market, especially in relation to women's increasing engagement in paid employment. More specifically, discussions have centred on how women, as mothers, can achieve a balance between their family responsibilities and the demands of paid work (Roberts C 1993: 1). Flexible working practices and childcare provision have emerged as the foci of discussion at all levels of this debate, from the national to the local.