Is There Ever a Solution for Working Mothers?

The vast majority of mothers in the world today are working and earning. Where they work may range from the family compound, to nearby fields, to local markets, to industrial parks, to corporate headquarters; but in both developing and developed countries women are economically active, providing support for themselves, their children, and their families

According to http://www.popcouncil.org/publications/seeds/seeds13.html#10T it states that: Not only are more mothers working but, in both the modern and traditional sectors, more mothers with very young children now find it necessary to venture further from home in order to provide a livelihood for the family. While it is difficult to find statistical breakdowns of the number of working mothers in most parts of the world, especially where large numbers of women are employed in the informal sector, in the United States today nearly 57 percent of women with children under the age of six are employed, and the trend appears to be growing. The number of women returning to the job market in the U.S. within one year of giving birth, for instance, rose from 31 percent in 1976 to 50.8 percent in 1987. The critical question is who is going to care for their children while they are working, because, in virtually all parts of the world, providing suitable child-care arrangements is the responsibility of the woman. One problem is that, in too many cases, adequate child care is not available, and when suitable arrangements do not exist, women face not only limitation of employment options and confinement to low-income occupations (where there is generally greater flexibility), but frequent high levels of stress, anxiety, and fear. There is a need for another care giving alternative: delegation of responsibility to a formally or informally organized system of childcare. Such programs come in forms ranging from highly organized preschool facilities to informal home day care arrangements where caregivers look after a group of neighborhood children. Child-care programs may also be located within cooperatives and factories, or provided by communities, with varying degrees of participation by and cost to working mothers.