Kinship and Informal Support: Care Resources for the First Generation of Working Mothers in Norway, Italy and Spain

Abstract

Previous empirical research from Norway, Italy, & Spain is drawn on to compare the child care & coping resources of the first generations of mothers to enter the paid labor force after WWII; analysis for Norway focuses on the early 1970s & Italy & Spain in the 1990s. Changing labor market opportunities for women & the provision/use of formal vs informal child care services are compared across countries, along with related policy developments. Differences between countries are related to variations in economic & cultural context; changes in the social & political construction of motherhood are also considered. Analysis reveals the key role of kinship, intergenerational, & informal support in allowing women -- particularly mothers -- to enter the workforce & promote national movements toward a viable model of the dual-career/dual income family. It is suggested that traditional beliefs about the role of the welfare state in providing child care services for working mothers may be overrated & the role of kinship & other forms of informal support underrated. K. Hyatt Stewart