Taub Center Early Childhood Seminar participants comment

On a career and parenthood with young children

Dr. Naomi Moreno | Director of the Dialogue on Early Childhood; member of the Advisory Council to the Taub Center Initiative on Early Childhood; Taub seminar graduate 2021 and 2022

Public discourse in Israel deals with the importance of infancy and focuses primarily on early childhood care frameworks. In order to decrease inequalities that are already present in early childhood one must examine the Israeli reality in several circles simultaneously — parenting and family, the community, values, and perceptions.

Israel has the highest fertility rate among the OECD countries and its rate of employment is also among the highest. The gap is particularly visible among mothers of young children. Mothers return to work relatively quickly after birth and a large percentage of children participate in ECEC frameworks. Number of work hours is relatively high, maternity leave is relatively short, there is no designated maternity leave for fathers, and there is a lack of available supplementary services in the community. Moreover, studies of the return of parents to the labor market after birth indicate that mothers with higher education tend to return to work within a shorter period of time than mothers with lower levels of education, while among fathers, no significant difference was found. The combination of these factors creates structural challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic and the changes in the work world, which began even prior to the pandemic, make it clear that there are feasible alternatives in the form of hybrid working and a new type of balance. Nonetheless, the institutional solutions for children and their parents remain unchanged.

What conditions will allow parents with the tools to combine parenthood and work to flourish? The policy alternatives below, which propose frameworks and programs that consider the unique values and needs of each family, as well as the parents’ employment constraints, will provide parents with additional quality time with their children:

• An information campaign on the importance of flexibility at work for parents of young children; encouragement of employers to implement flexible work arrangements and to allow for a flexible use of the maternity leave and their ranking according to that measure.

• The operation of a variety of frameworks that will provide flexibility in workhours and workdays and will offer solutions also to parents who are studying.

• The operation of ECEC frameworks within the workplace, with government support.

• Counselling for parents and greater access to tools and knowledge, including emotional preparation for firsttime parents.

• Creating a supervised database of caregivers who will be certified for employment in the home.

• Lengthening of paid maternity leave for mothers and creating a designated leave for fathers.

In conclusion, a flexible and up-to-date socioeconomic policy for the employment of parents with young children will have an impact on children and their families, as well as on the economy and on society in general, and will narrow future disparities.