Child care and equal opportunity for women

This report examines the relationship between the federal government's child care programs and policies and the federal government's goal of equal opportunity for women. Specifically, the report reviews three dimensions of federal child care activities: programs and policies whose primary purpose is to assist families with child care; the provision of child care as part of major federal employment, training, and education programs; and the considerations given to child care by the federal government in its equal opportunity laws and in its role as an employer. Drawing on published journal articles and research reports, government documents, interviews with government officials, and interviews with other experts, the analysis attempts to clarify the extent to which these child care activities and policies frustrate the federal goal of equal opportunity for women. It is argued that although the development of equal opportunity policies over the last 15 years by federal statutes, court decrees, and agency actions has produced notable gains in women's labor force participation and educational enrollment, federal government's goal of equal opportunity for women has not been realized. Women as workers and students, especially minority women, continue to be disadvantaged when compared with men; women have considerably more difficulty in securing employment and are much less likely than men to complete college or to receive advanced job training. An appeal is made for changes in those policies and programs that restrict women's equal opportunity.