Childcare Preferences of Parents in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic

Childcare Preferences of Parents in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. In spite of recent economic and social developments in the EU and related pressures on labour market participation, family policies in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic are very familialistic. With the combination of long-term leaves and limited access to institutional childcare the reconciliation of parenting and work remains an irresolvable task that has implications for gender equality and specifically for the participation of women in the labour market. This article seeks to examine the relationship between the ideal preferences and real decisions parents make concerning care for preschool-age children against a backdrop of cultural values, economic factors, and institutional provisions established under the system of family policy and childcare policy in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and in relation to gender in/equality in society. The aim is to shed light on the structure and content of parental views on childcare in the context of both real and hypothetical decision-making. As the data show, the ideal preferences and hypothetical choices of parents reflect their actual practice which is determined by the given childcare policies. It is therefore necessary to take this into account in relation to increasing gender equality in society and the participation of both men and women in childcare.