Woman and work — two extracts from an EEC bulletin

The current issue of Vocational Training, Information Bulletin No 2/3, published by the Commission of the European Communities, contains two interesting items on women's employment. The first of these, by Deborah King, is reproduced in full below. The second item appears on page 15 under the heading ‘A survey of the situation and problems concerning the education, training and employment of women in the EEC’. This is a lengthy treatment of the subject, running to 18 pages of A4, of which we have reproduced the summary here. Although we now have equal opportunities legislation and sex discrimination legislation, the reports highlight areas in which there is much room for improvement — for example in the provision of day care facilities for children. Lack of this provision can be one of the main factors preventing a woman from returning to work while her family is young, yet where is the lobby for day nurseries in the UK? The report also draws attention to the hidden pool of female unemployment. Many married women who would enter employment if suitable job opportunities existed are unemployed, yet they do not claim unemployment benefit and so do not appear in the statistics. Readers wishing to read this report in full can obtain single copies of the Bulletin, price 65p, from HMSO, PO Box 569, London SE1 9NH. 01–928 6977, ext 365. The Bulletin appears four times a year and a subscription costs £2.00. When ordering, it is necessary to specify in which language you wish to receive the publication.