In the Business of Child Care: Employer Initiatives and Working Women

The focus of this short, well-written, and interesting book is employer support for child-care provision in the US. Topics include the need for and history of child care outside the home, the different types of support offered by employers (with examples), and the pros and cons for providing that support. An argument against expecting government assistance is presented. For Auerbach, a sociologist, an important consequence of the development of employer support is the legitimization of mothers working outside the home and children being cared for by nonfamily members. As a whole, this book provides a concise historical survey of this narrow topic.

Choice

The status of women in the public domain has been limited by ideas of proper roles for women, particularly regarding childcare. One result of such cultural notions is the limited supply of extra-familial child care, even with the rise of significant participation in the labor force of mothers with young children. With the aid of a rigorous methodology, In the Business of Child Care surpasses the traditional descriptive account of child care to provide theoretical discussions on the business of child care assistance. Sociological analyses of employer supported child care, and of the relationship between cultural ideology and the reality of women’s employment, make this volume a land-mark text for scholars and students of sociology, social welfare, women’s studies, as well as for public policy makers, personnel administrators, and child care workers.