This study describes maternal labour market participation and childcare use in Australia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, in the context of government support for childcare, and other social/economic policies such as benefits and taxation. While maternal labour market participation in all three countries has increased markedly since the 1960s, each of the three countries in this study has a different combination of policies, and different patterns of labour market participation and childcare.
The study also provides suggestions for further research on the inter-relationships between childcare and maternal labour market participation.