realities of mothers in europe
Transcripción
realities of mothers in europe
FACTS & FIGURES From the 2011 Survey of Mothers in Europe A report by MMM Europe May 2011 Prepared by Julie de Bergeyck Dr. Owen Stevens Joan Stevens Anne-Claire de Liedekerke Table of Contents Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. 3 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 4 Executive Summary............................................................................................................. 5 Methodology....................................................................................................................... 7 Overview of Findings ........................................................................................................ 10 1. Profile of surveyed mothers ................................................................................. 10 2. Motherhood .......................................................................................................... 12 3. Satisfaction and well-being as a mother............................................................... 13 4. Family relationships .............................................................................................. 18 5. Opinions of mothers ............................................................................................. 20 6. Retirement ............................................................................................................ 21 7. Intergenerational and social networks of support ............................................... 23 8. Time use of mothers ............................................................................................. 25 9. Key policy messages .............................................................................................. 34 The Single Mother: A Case Study ...................................................................................... 42 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 48 List of Questions of the “Survey of Mothers in Europe” ................................................... 50 ANNEX European Associations Aiding in the “Survey of Mothers in Europe” .............................. 59 About the Mouvement Mondial des Mères (MMM) ....................................................... 62 2 Acknowledgments This report and the survey from which it is drawn are the result of a large volunteer effort across borders. We express deep gratitude to the thousands of mothers and several experts who voluntarily helped create, translate, disseminate and respond to the Survey of Mothers in Europe. Organisations which supported this effort are listed in the Annex. Special thanks go to the extraordinary team of volunteers who translated and collated the messages sent by the responding mothers. Our report would not be possible without their tireless and precious volunteer effort. We also express gratitude to the experts who have provided scientific counsel throughout the process. Karin Bengtsson (HARO, Sweden), Ariane de Liedekerke (Belgium), Brigitte de Vaumas (Accion Familiar, Spain), Katharina Droste (Germany), Monique GeensWittemans (Belgium), Zsuzsa D. Kormosné (NOE, Hungary), Anna KováčováHabovštiaková (Donum Vitae, Slovakia), Martina Leibovici (Fit for kids, Austria), Anna Lines (FTM, UK), Jacques Marquet (UCL, Belgium), Bernard Masuy (UCL, Belgium), Michiel Matthes (European Alliance for Childhood), Catherine Matuschka (Germany), Marie Peacock (UK), Lorenza Rebuzzini (Forum delle Associazioni Familiari), Eszter Sandor & team (Eurofound), Eija Sevon (University of Jyväskylä, Finland), Sylviane Stolberg (Germany), Karla Van Leeuwen (KUL, Belgium), Owen Stevens (Brussels), Katherine Jarvis (University of Hawaii), George Jarvis (University of Alberta) and the MMM Europe team (especially Catherine Couplan, Véronique de Vaumas and Claudin Solanet). For the survey and analytical tools we thank Qualtrics.com. For help with dissemination of this report special thanks go to Datapresse.com, the European Economic and Social Comittee and the Bernheim Foundation for their gracious partnership. Photos in this report were courteously provided by Armand Hekimian and Kim Ledent. Finally, words are inadequate to express our gratitude to the thousands of European mothers who trusted us with their thoughts and concerns. Their passion, engagement, and wisdom infuse the assembled data. This report provides but a first glimpse of the insight which will reward thorough serious study of the messages they have sent. We earnestly hope that the gold mine of experiential knowledge provided by these mothers of Europe will be acknowledged and acted upon by policy makers in the Europe Union and in each member state. THE AUTHORS 3 Introduction The European delegation of the World Movement of Mothers (MMM Europe) is a partner in the Family Platform (www.familyplatform.eu) launched by the Research Directorate of the European Commission in 2009. The mission of the Family Platform was to generate a research agenda for future evidence-based family policy development in the European Union. In harmony with its mission as the Voice of Mothers in Europe, and seeking to assure consideration of the concerns and realities of mothers, MMM Europe launched a survey of mothers in Europe to inform its contribution to the work of the Family Platform. The aim of the present report is to provide a first description of the results of the MMM Europe 2011 Survey of Mothers in Europe. For a more concise presentation, please consult our brochure What Matters to Mothers in Europe, in English, French, Swedish and Spanish, downloadable from www.mmmeurope.org. Additional and more advanced analyses of survey results are also in process.1 1 Interested academic researchers are engaged in extended analysis of survey responses. Their findings will be presented in academic conferences and journals and summarized in MMM Europe working papers accessible via its website. 4 Executive Summary The “2011 Survey of Mothers in Europe” ran in 10 languages across 16 European countries and received responses from more than 11,000 mothers. Expert interviews, focus groups, survey preparation, and analysis were done by volunteer mothers at MMM Europe’s Brussels office. They were assisted by a dozen brilliant volunteer mothers in the language areas across Europe who provided support in translation and in capturing the messages in the open-ended questions. What caught our attention is that over 90% of responding mothers report being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” as mothers and report good overall family relationships with partner and children. According to them, the most important factors that ensure their wellbeing are: o For their relationship with their children: “stable and harmonious relationships within the family” and “having sufficient time to spend with them” o For their partners, it is “respect, love and tolerance” It may seem somewhat difficult to translate these findings into actionable policy measures, but the logical imperative is to create favorable environments which support the efforts of mothers and fathers to nurture those stable and harmonious relationships within their own families. This calls for recognition of and respect for family priorities in employment, housing, transportation and other policy formation. The need for appropriate respect and understanding is reflected in the messages which mothers address to European policy makers when responding to the survey. Mothers do not ask for more love, they call for actions in domains which have direct impact on their day-to-day life: In order to improve their work/family life balance, the surveyed mothers demand enough time to educate their children. This request is voiced insistently by younger mothers who have children still at home but who are required by circumstances to divide their time between paid work and direct investment in the development of their children and family. These mothers feel caught in the “rush hour” season of their lives, being pulled in multiple directions simultaneously. They ask for increases in maternity/parental leaves from paid work, more possibilities and opportunities for parttime paid employment, more flexibility to match work schedules with family responsibilities, more family-friendly work assignments and job definitions, and better adapted daycare solutions. Mothers want to choose for themselves how they will rear their children and manage their family. They do not want to be herded by imposed rules written by economic planners. They want to be respected and enabled in whatever choice they make to raise their children. Mothers want paid employment but they also want to choose their engagement as a function of their season in the mother’s lifecycle. They want better recognition of the vital importance of unpaid family care and motherhood in society. 5 Mothers want the decisions of mothers and parents to be respected when they deem it best to stay at home to care directly for their children. Mothers want a financially viable way to access quality daycare or to choose to care personally for their under school-age children. Mothers want the family to be recognized for what it clearly is in their own experience-the primary multigenerational resource for the entire society. They demand that families and children be taken seriously and regarded as the future of our society. While there are moderate differences between countries and regions, the common concerns and priorities of mothers as summarized above clearly transcend the differences. 6 Methodology Development of the “Survey of Mothers in Europe“ began in September 2009 with a series of exploratory interviews with persons active in counseling and working with mothers and children. Themes extracted from these interviews provided a guiding framework for interviews with individual mothers, which in turn identified themes that were explored more fully in focus groups of mothers drawn from widely differing cultural and economic backgrounds. While the interviews and focus groups were in process, a review of recent European research was also undertaken. While the interview experiences with mothers were increasingly poignant, the review of existing scientific and scholarly literature revealed that little attention was devoted to mothers, to the point that the very word “mother” was hardly mentioned, as if the people we had been interviewing had no socially contributive role or identity to be acknowledged let alone explored. Even more rarely did researchers give mothers the opportunity to speak with their own voice. These realisations produced a growing sense of an imperative to reach out to and give voice to as many mothers as possible. The cruciality of this imperative ignited the energy that propelled the project onward: A questionnaire would be constructed and disseminated as widely as possible across Europe. It would invite mothers to identify their concerns and priorities and provide an opportunity for each to write a message in their own terms for delivery to European policy makers. Participating mothers would also be invited to continue in dialogue with the MMM Europe team to ensure that their voice would no longer be left to echo unheard. Survey tool and scientific counsel The MMM Europe volunteers sought and obtained crucial scientific help as the project advanced. Given the volunteer nature of the project team and the limited time and resources available, only online delivery and analysis of the questionnaire could provide the needed timely result2. World class, solidly tested and robust survey and analytical tools were graciously provided by www.qualtrics.com, an international research organization serving universities and large enterprises worldwide. Scientific counsel was graciously provided by several university partners and researchers throughout the process. Particularly precious scientific advice for analysis of the results came from Bernard Marquet (Université Catholique de Louvain) and Karla van Leeuwen (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven). After all the data had been collected, Bernard Masuy (Université Catholique de Louvain) went beyond the extra mile to transform the initial responses into databases in SPSS and NVIVO formats3 suitable for later sophisticated statistical analysis. Questionnaire discription The eventual survey instrument consisted of twenty-five basic questions with various sub queries. On average participants took 25 minutes to complete it. The questions were grouped into the following areas: Family background: Variables include age; family structure; number, age and residence of children. 2 The survey was solely accessible via the internet. Latest 2010 Eurostat data indicates that 70% of households in the European Union have internet access, of which 61% have large bandwidth access. 3 Those wishing to engage in further analysis are invited to please contact [email protected]. 7 Socio-demographic background: Variables include age, educational attainment, employment, affiliation, voluntary activity, religious commitment, migration background, and residence location. Satisfaction as a mother: Variables include satisfaction and contributing factors. Opinions on family issues: Degree of agreement or disagreement with common statements about mothers and family. Time use: Variables include theoretical preference for paid employment versus and actual engagement in employment, and versus family care, and satisfaction with time use. Retirement: Variables include plans, concerns, envisioned time use, housing, and financial preparation. Intergenerational and social networks of support: Variables explore family and other sources of social and material support. Family relationships: Variables include causes of difficulty within the family, relationships with children and partner, and factors deemed important in determining the quality of child and partner relationships. Free-text open responses were solicited on the following topics: “If you were talking to a woman who is pregnant with her first child, how would describe what it is like to transition into being a mother?” “If you could launch a message to the political world in order to increase the family’s wellbeing, what would it be?” Of those reporting dissatisfaction with current work schedule, the following question was posed: “Please explain why you are dissatisfied about your current work schedule.” Other: Twelve of the typically fixed-choice questions include a final answer category termed “Other” or “Other, please explain”. For reference, the full list of questions is included at the end of this report. Survey timing The survey opened on February 1, 2010 and ended on August 31, 2010. When the survey was launched, MMM Europe hoped that mothers would respond and voice their opinions, but expectations were far surpassed when thousands of mothers responded within the first four weeks of the launch. The survey was terminated when the total of respondents passed the 11,000 mark. Languages and countries The Survey of Mothers in Europe was launched in 8 languages: German, English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Swedish. A 9th, Slovak, was added on March 25, 2010; and a 10th, Finnish, was added in April 2010. With these 10 languages we were able to address mothers in 16 countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Sweden, Finland, UK, Ireland, Malta, and Slovakia). Translation and basic analysis of free text responses was done by a dozen volunteer mothers, each working in her mother tongue and in dialogue with MMM Europe staff in Brussels. 8 Profile of Respondents Participating mothers learned of the survey through word-of-mouth, email, and links on the websites of the MMM, its affiliated organizations, or other civil society associations4 which serve mothers and families in Europe. The sample was therefore made up of mothers that recruited each other to take the survey. Thus an important feature of survey participants is that they are probably linked together, many of them in already constituted information- and/or actionrelated networks. Such a sample is well-known in research circles, and is been referred to by various descriptive names such as “snowball sample”, “affinity sample” or “network sample”. More important in assessing the nature of the sample of responding mothers is the profile they reveal through their answers to questions. Here are some key features of this profile: Besides being a woman, each respondent is a mother who gives high significance to her identity as a mother. Respondents have access to and both know how to use a computer, and how to communicate widely through the internet Respondents are also characterised by the motivation and ability to keep themselves informed on matters concerning motherhood and family issues. A feature of their motivation is that they were told that this survey would give them an opportunity to compose a personal message to European policy makers5. Respondents desire to make their thoughts known, and they were motivated to seek out the link that would permit them to do so. 4 See the Annex for list of associations across Europe who have helped in disseminating the survey. This relates to the many thank you messages that the respondents left behind in the “comments” section at the end of the survey. 5 9 Overview of Findings The findings presented in this report are based on responses from 11,887 unique respondents7. 1. Profile of surveyed mothers Besides their opinions, concerns, and priorities, mother’s responses to the survey questions also provide knowledge about who they are. The general profile is of a mother of a certain maturity, a high level of education, married or living in couple (87%), with 2.6 children. Approximately, 60% of responding mothers are currently employed full-or part-time or on parental leave. Participating mothers have a propensity to offer volunteer service. The three tables below provide a profile of survey respondents. Figure 1A provides the general statistical profile of participating mothers. Figure 1B reveals participant country of residence. Table 3 classifies mothers by language used in responding to the survey. Fig 1A. MMM Survey of Mothers in Europe 2010 11,887 respondents Mothers by number of children Partners/spouses of Mothers by employment 1 23% Work as employee, or employer/selfemployed 2 32% Employed but on leave for child-care or other cause 3 23% Retired 4 13% Full-time homemaker 5 or more 9% Unemployed 8 Mothers by age of children Other Child(ren) under 6 yrs 32% Mothers by highest education completed Child(ren) under 12 yrs 21% Primary Child(ren) under 18 yrs 16% Secondary Children above 18 yrs 31% Post-secondary Children still living under the same roof? University and more Yes, always 80% Mothers by voluntary service Yes, sometimes 9% Yes No, not anymore, they are independent 10% No now. No, never 0.5% Those who volunteer do so in the (list continues on next page) following areas: 55% in non-profit associations 27% at school 16% in community aid 27% in other ways, of which half 7 86% 0% 5% 1% 2% 6% 1% 12% 36% 51% 55% 45% The database was cleaned by Bernard Masuy, research consultant from UCL, and is available for secondary research in SPSS, CSV and NVIVO format. These databases include responses from a total of 10,244 mothers. Please contact [email protected] concerning access to and use of these files. 10 Patchwork family? No Yes If yes above, do the children of your partner live with you? Yes, always Yes, alternatively No Age of mothers 18 or less 19-25 26-40 41-55 56-70 71 or more Mothers by couple relations Married or living with partner (includes 2% remarried) Separated or divorced Single (never married and do not live with partner) Widowed 9 Mothers by employment Work as employee, or employer/selfemployed Employed but on leave for child-care or other cause Retired Full-time homemaker Unemployed 10 Other volunteer in their parishes 8 Mothers migration background Yes No Mothers by area of residence 93% 7% 22% 19% 60% City Countryside Suburbs 11% 89% 57% 25% 18% 0% 1% 52% 36% 10% 1% 87% 8% 3% 2% 51% 8% 4% 23% 3% 11% 8 In the survey, we asked if at least one family member is issued from migration (including father and/or mother and/or grand-parents). 9 For reference, another question later in the survey also asked about their current time use: 28% work fulltime, 32% work part-time, 6% look for a job, and 33% are full-time stay-at-home mothers. If you add up the categories “maternity leave”, “retired”, parts of “other”, one get to about 33% full-time stay-at-home which equals the 33% of the other question. 10 Category labeled “other” was undefined but includes the public sector, liberal professions, teachers, artisans, assisting spouse, etc. 11 Figure 1B. Mothers by Country of Residence Mothers by country France Belgium Spain Hungary Germany Italy Great-Britain Sweden Slovakia Luxemburg Finland Malta Netherlands Austria Switzerland Ireland Portugal Number of respondents 3640 1916 1712 851 721 563 382 278 243 240 163 122 119 100 89 68 32 Percent of respondents 32% 17% 15% 7% 6% 5% 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 0% Figure 1C. Mothers by Language Average number of children Mothers by Language used in MMM survey 3.2 2.6 1.9 2.3 2.1 2.5 2.6 3.1 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.1 2.8 2.3 2.5 2.3 2.0 French Spanish German Hungarian English Italian Dutch Swedish Slovak Finnish Percent of respondents 47% 15% 9% 8% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% In addition to the portrait revealed in the tables above, it is to note that the desire to express their views characterized survey participants. This suggests that the panel is a sample of confident active, educated, politically concerned mothers. 2. Motherhood As part of the survey, mothers were asked the following question: “If you were talking to a woman who is pregnant with her first child, how would you describe what it's like to transition into being a mother?” This question received a response from 8282 mothers. The messages contained much strong emotion, and the dominant themes were: 1. The birth of the first child constitutes a major and irreversible change in focus, priorities, and life-course. One never again sees life as one did before becoming a mother. 2. The responsibility of motherhood is experienced as supremely challenging, highly demanding, and worth everything it costs. Here are representative extracts: “It is the achievement of an enormous project! It calls for great responsibility, and for commitment and for giving of oneself. But it brings with it great happiness.” “Before I was just ME; now I am US.” “A total change of life. One no longer lives for oneself, but one is obliged to think first of one’s children. With one’s partner/husband one is no longer a couple but a family.” “It is a big change going from 2 to 3. Baby becomes the focus. It is important for the parents to be united as a couple and to attend to each other.” 12 “A Big shock, everything changes, intense and impossible to describe in words…when things are in place, the love shared outweighs all the sacrifices that are a must. No other experience is like it in the world and no greater accomplishment, degree or career can outweigh that love.” “You think that you can love, but when you have your first child the love that you feel is like nothing else on this earth. It will make you become a lioness and want to protect your children from all harm and badness. You will love your children forever and nothing can break that bond. Spending time with your children, telling them how much you love them is far more important than any material thing that you can buy for them. They probably won’t remember most of the toys and gadgets that they get, but they will remember the walk on the beach and the picnics they had with you, the baking of the cake and the special times!!! ” “The passage from woman to mother is an exceptional event that only we women can fully live. The relationship between mother and child is wonderful, moving. It is the most beautiful gift of life, and it is a privilege that we have and that none can take from us.” “It is the most beautiful gift that life can give to a woman. Motherhood produces a personal blossoming that motivates us toward giving and generosity. To be a mother is to give of oneself. It is an act of love immeasurable and unbounded by time. It is also an enormous challenge that drives us to humility in failure, that pushes us to surpass one's inner (personal) and outer (physical) limits.” To do full justice to all 8282 recorded messages will require additional effort and the use of sophisticated analytical tools. The full database is available in NVIVO format for interested researchers. Please contact [email protected]. 3. Satisfaction and well-being as a mother Out of the 9107 respondents to the questions on satisfaction, 94% say they are satisfied/very satisfied as a mother, with only 6% reporting they are unsatisfied. o Mothers from Eastern European countries show the highest degree of dissatisfaction among mothers with more than 10% o Mothers from Luxemburg and Sweden show the lowest degrees of dissatisfaction with less than 3% o Among the 591 unsatisfied mothers, nearly half report experiencing a difficult or very difficult family situation and are unsatisfied with their current time use. o As seen on the chart below (Fig 2), marital status impacts the satisfaction of mothers. Mothers who are in a partner relationship are more likely to be satisfied than single, divorced or separated mothers. Fig 2: Cross-tabulation between satisfaction and marital status 13 Fig. 3: Cross-tabulation between satisfaction and employment status Fig. 4: Cross-tabulation between satisfaction and time use o o As seen on the two charts above (Fig. 3 and 4), there is also a difference in satisfaction among respondents depending on employment status. Mothers on maternity leave/parental leave and stay-at-home moms are more likely to be satisfied than others, followed closely by self-employed respondents. Those working full-time report lower satisfaction than those working part-time. The chart below (Fig. 5) confirms that there is a strong correlation between general satisfaction and satisfaction level of the panel’s time-use. Fig.5: Cross-tabulation between satisfaction as a mother and satisfaction of time use When asked to vote on a list of factors (see table 6 below) that could contribute to improving the wellbeing of mothers, all respondents said it is very important not to “have violence in the family” (89%). Closely following in frequency of mention were “having 14 enough time with their family” (80%), “more love, respect and tolerance” (74%), then “Work/life balance” (71%) and “harmonious communication in the family” (69%). o The “time issue” is considered as particularly important for mothers with young children in the household. “Living in adequate and safe housing”, “more intergenerational solidarity”, “less consumeroriented society” and “having enough leisure activities” were considered as other categories important to them. Please note that 46% say that to “have more children” is important to them. Fig. 6: Q: Please indicate which factors are most important in contributing to the wellbeing of mothers in general and their families. Family and work-related factors are included. N = 9087 lowest and 8007 highest 15 Through comments in the “other” category, more than 900 mothers provided additional clarification as to factors contributing importantly to satisfaction and well-being. Some of the clarifications mothers provided are given below: “The state should take responsibility and offer quality childcare and understand that if they want women in the labor market they should take this seriously. It's for the sake of all society not of just the women.” ”Recognition of stay-at-home mothers. I am convinced that society would be more peaceful if families were motivated to take care themselves of their children. Even, if a training is sometimes very helpful. Furthermore, working hours matching school hours would allow many women not to be in front of a dilemma: the children or work. Both are rewarding and contribute to women’s wellbeing. A happy woman will be more available for her children and receptive to their needs, including to their limits.” “Recognition and acknowledgement of the inestimable value of the mother to the family and society” «Mothers are generally excellent time managers in the sense that they can’t stay in endless meetings. Therefore, they become efficient co-workers. This skill needs to be better recognised and should allow companies to hire more women during school hours schedules only. I believe a lot in corporate daycares that enable a proximity of the mother OR the father with his/her small child. There should be a better recognition that the childrearing-related professions are highly qualified jobs in terms of human relations and education and that they should be more strictly controlled and better paid, not based on diplomas, but rather on the capacity to take care of fragile beings who act like ‘sponges’.” « A better recognition of the mother’s AND father’s role at work. If the father is recognised, it will be more the less easier for the mother. One has to concentrate on both. The parental leave is taken too little by men because it is not well perceived. If it was more taken by more men, it would be better perceived for the women too….” “Longer paternity leave” “Reduction in typical adult full time hours to reduce absent father syndrome and make more part time opportunities available for other parents” “REAL opportunities to choose between stay-at-home motherhood and paid work” “A family friendly society...” 16 A preliminary classification of factors mentioned in these 900 messages is provided in Fig. 7. Note that 43% of the messages were linked to the financial and psychological recognition of the valuable investment provided by stay-at-home parents: Fig. 7 : Analysis of the messages in the « Other » category in response to the factors contributing to the wellbeing of mothers Allocation for stay-at-home parent 19% Choice to be employed or stay-at-home to care for children 13% Better recognition of stay-at-home parent's role 12% Rights linked with employment (pension) 11% Better adapted daycare solutions 8% Want a place for dialogue 7% Better recognition of fathers' role 7% Other (support for handicapped, illnesses, tolerance, etc) 6% School-related 4% More help to find employment 4% Flexible work hours and shorter commute 3% Days off during school holidays 3% More support for single mothers Facilités pour l’allaitement (Facilities for nursing babies) 2% 1% Note : Does not include 120 messages from Spain 17 4. Family relationships In general Some 89% of respondents rate their relations within the family as good or very good. Nine hundred sixty nine (or 11 %) report a difficult or very difficult family situation Those expressing difficult or very difficult family situations were asked17 to identify contributing factors from a list of items. Highest rated factors from the list were separation/divorce (29%), loneliness (15%), and depression or medical issues (15%). Fig. 8: Q: What are the reasons of your difficult family situation? N = 1,140, Only if experiencing a difficult family situation, several answers possible Relationship with children When asked more specifically about relationships with their children, 98% reported good to very good relationships. Respondents were also asked to rate the importance of relations with children in a list of nine factors. Additional factors could be volunteered through an open response question for which results are yet to be analysed. o Rated as “very important” were “having stable and harmonious relationships within the family” (89%), followed by “having sufficient time to spend with them” (84%) and “being able to set and maintain boundaries and limits.” (74%) o Finance and adequate lodging came rated as the top “important” factors. o The factors that were ranked as not important or not at all important are “influence of the media and time spent in front of a screen (TV, Internet, GSM, MP3)” as well as “influence of my child(ren)’s friends” o As said before, some 1,154 respondents also added their reasons in the “other” category. Here are some examples that show the wide range of factors mothers believe are important for their relationship with their children: 17 This section was started later and several choices were made possible only after the week beginning March 22, 2010. 18 „Mutual trust“ “Maintain a dialogue” “Balanced diet” “Be able to financially support their scholar education” “Not to be too tired” „Stable couple” “Love” “Respect, affection, moderation” Fig. 9: Please indicate which factors are most important in influencing your relationship with your child(ren). In reality, are these factors applied in your family? A little bit 3% Absolutely not 0% Nearly 44% N = 8,559 lowest and 8,635 highest N = 8,601, one possible answer Relationship with partner18 With reference to partner relationships, respondents rated their relationship from very good to very difficult, after which they were asked to rate from “very important” to “unimportant” a list of ten factors followed by an open-response option yet to be studied. o Some 91% reported a “good” or “very good” relationship, with 56% very good. o The most frequently selected very important factor is “Respect, love and tolerance” (92%). This was followed by “share same values” (71%) and “being in agreement/disagreement on how to rear children” (66%) o The factors reported as important are “financial situation” (65%), “relationship with your extended family (parents, brothers/sisters, etc)” (56%), and “quality of your sexual relations” (57%), and “sharing of tasks, depending on availability” (51%) o The least important factor is “Regulation of time spent in front of a screen (TV, Internet, GSM, etc) 18 Question on quality of relationship with partner asked only if respondents had stated earlier if they are married, in couple, or remarried. 19 Absolutely 53% o Here again, a few more than 700 respondents used the open-ended space to give their own opinion on important factors related to their partner relationship: The two main topics that came back often are trust and dialogue/communication, like these examples: “Maintaining a dialogue increases the relationship even if we don’t share the same opinions; it’s important to be able to say how we feel about each other, even what we don’t like about each other. It downplays the situation to put words on problems.» “Respect for each other, understanding and acceptance of each other’s different backgrounds” “Trust” Fig. 10: Please indicate which factors are most important in influencing your relationship with your partner. Factors that influence Relationship with Partner Very impo rtant Impo rtant No t very impo rtant Unimpo rtant Respect, lo ve and to lerance Share o f same values A greement/disagreement o n ho w to rear o ur children To have sufficient time fo r each o ther No stress at ho me Sharing o f tasks, depending o n availability In reality, are these factors applied in your family? Quality o f sexual relatio nship A bso lutely no t 3% A little bit 6% Regulatio n o f time spent in fro nt o f a screen (TV, Internet, GSM , etc) Relatio nship with yo ur extended family (parents, bro thers/sisters, etc) Financial situatio n A bso lutely 50% Nearly 41% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% N = 8,264lowest and 8,292 highest N = 8,227, one possible answer 5. Opinions of mothers Mothers were asked to agree or disagree with seventeen statements of opinion, a sample of which is given in the table below. Highlights include the following examples of strongly shared opinions: 1. 99% agree that “Healthy and good relationships within the family promote the emotional health of family members”. 20 2. 97% agree that “Policy makers should always consider the impact on families when preparing government policies”. 3. 96% agree that “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. (Article 16, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)” 4. 95% agree with the statement that “The service mothers perform for their children should be recognised as important work”. 5. 91% agree with the statement “A mother’s influence goes far beyond the home and contributes to the cultural, economic, and social development of her country.” (Ban Ki Moon, May 2009) 6. Opinions differ widely on the statements that “Mothers would have more children if they did not have to work” or “if they had access to better childcare solutions”. 7. 83% of mothers reject the statement that “Teenagers can take care of themselves after school”. 8. 64% of mothers in the panel do not agree with the statement that “Motherhood is well recognised and valued by society”. 9. 64% reject the statement that “Mothers find remunerated employment to be more satisfying than the upbringing of children”. 6. Retirement About 1000 mothers responded to this section, which corresponds to the mothers who did not have their children under the same roof anymore. About plans for retirement: 65% rely on their pension, 45% on their savings, 31% on their housing investment, one fourth have private pension plans and 15% chose the “other plans” category. o The eastern countries showed a slightly different set of responses with 84% relying on their pension and only 16% on their savings. Their main worries are by far health-related (60%), followed by financial with 36%. About 10% have written that they do not have ANY worry in the “other” category. o In the eastern countries, financial worries are number one before health problems. Fig. 11: What plans have you made for retirement? Check any that apply. N = 1,015, asked only if no children at home anymore; several responses possible Fig. 12: Regarding your retirement, what are your concerns? Check any that apply. N = 926, asked only if no children at home anymore; several responses possible 21 Relative to time use, Fig. 13: How do you spend or envision spending your time? Check any that apply. the vast majority of the respondents have said that in their retirement their time is or will be spent in helping their respective families (81%), and volunteering (68%). Other frequent responses include spending time with N = 1,033, asked only if no children at home anymore; several responses possible their families (59%), and leisure and travel. One out of four is or would like to continue studying. o Compared to all other countries, and especially with Italy (95%), respondents in Finland and Spain ranked low in willingness to “Help their respective families” (50% and 59%) With regards to the financial Fig. 14: How do you or will you provide for yourself? Check any that apply. resources of those who are or will retire, 57% depend on the pension of their partners, 51% have a pension of their own and 43% depend on their savings. The more children they have, the more respondents depend on their partner’s pension. Here again, there is N = 1,030, asked only if no children at home anymore; several responses possible a significant difference with the eastern countries. Regarding lodging during Fig. 15: When talking about retirement, what is your housing or retirement, the vast majority would be your desire for housing? (73%) want to keep their own house or other independent housing as long as possible. The second choice (39%) was “if I am/become infirm or unable to care for myself, I am/will go to a retirement facility because I do not want to become a burden on my children”. Only 3% live or would like to live with one of their children (except the Eastern region where the proportion is 7%). N = 1,025, asked only if no children at home anymore; several responses possible 22 7. Intergenerational and social networks of support Who helps mothers: Of the 5,574 mothers who have responded to this section, 69% can count on their partner to look after their children either regularly or occasionally. 56% of respondents say that their parents help them tend their children, for the most part on an occasional basis. The situation is similar when there is a sick child. For some household tasks 49% are helped regularly by their spouses, 40% occasionally, and 12% never. 80% report that their spouse regularly helps out and boosts their morale. Only 5% receive no moral support. Parents, other members of their family, and friends also play an occasional role in providing moral support and keeping company. In reference to finances, 4/5th of respondents depend on the regular financial support of their spouse. Some 34% receive occasional financial support from their parents. As to transportation, in 44% of cases, it is the spouse that helps on a regular basis, while friends help only occasionally. About one out of three mothers (3523) in this panel uses external day care or nursery services on a regular or occasional basis. About one out of 10 mothers (946) in this panel use regular home services (nanny) to care for their children while they work. About 1 out of 4 mothers (2498) use regular home services such as a cleaning lady for household tasks. Fig. 16: In your daily life, where do you turn for help and for which reasons? N=6,337 lowest and 8,013 highest 23 Whom do they help: As to rendering service outside the home, nearly half the mothers reported offering regular or occasional service to other members of their family, to friends, and to neighbors. o Of those who responded to this question, nearly 1 in 2 looks regularly after the children of family members, friends or neighbors. Fig. 17: On the contrary, who turns to you for help and why? N =5,698 lowest and 7,195 highest With regards to volunteering in the community, there is a strong correlation between the number of children, the mother’s age, and the mother’s engagement in paid work: The more children mothers have, the more they will volunteer (39% of mothers with one child, 59% of mothers with 3 children, 77% of mothers with 5 children) The older they are, the more they volunteer (44% for 26-40, 66% for 41-55 and 76% for 56-70) Retired (75%) and stay-at-home mothers (69%) are more likely to volunteer. Those least likely are those on maternity or parental leave (41%). 24 8. Time use of mothers This section treats in more depth the issue of time devoted to work versus time devoted to family. Mothers in the survey were asked about three aspects of their allocation of personal time between paid work and family care: ideal preferences, present actual time use, and level of satisfaction with their actual time use. Preference: Respondents were asked to express their theoretical preferences with regard to paid work (full-time or part-time) versus full-time attention to family. Fig. 18: Surveys* have asked women their preferences concerning paid work. About 20% choose to center their lives on a career, about 60% would like to combine paid work with family care duties, and about 20% would prefer to center their lives on full-time unpaid family care duties. What would be your preference? (*Dr Catherine Hakim….) N =10,142, one answer possible As seen in Fig. 18 above, 11% of responding mothers expressed a preference for a full-time employment, 63% prefer some combination of part-time work and family care duties, and 26% prefer to take full-time care of their family. Fig. 19: You have selected a combination of part-time work and family care duties. If you had the choice, which option would you choose depending on the children's age periods below: N= 5,462 - 5,640 only if responded combination of paid employment and family work 25 The mothers who expressed preference for a combination of part-time paid work and care for their family were asked to further explain how they would prefer to allocate their time as a function of the age of their child. There is a strong commonality across all European respondents to this question. As seen on the chart above (Fig. 19), there is a definite correlation between the age of the children and the amount of time desired to take care of them. There is a clear preference for full-time family care when the child is between 0 and 3. After that, the clear preference is for part-time paid work until the turning point to preference for full-time paid work after the child passes 18. By combining the responses in Figures 18 and 19 as explained in the note below19 we can deduce that of all surveyed mothers: 76% prefer to care full-time for their infant from the birth to 1 year of age. 61% prefer to care full-time for their child from 1-3 years in age. 37% prefer to care full time for their child till she/he attains school-age. As the desire to devote full time to child care drops the preference for part-time employment rises. Preference for full time employment rises as the child ages, and jumps to dominance when the child passes her/his 18th year. Thus, when one combines all mothers who express employment-centred and adaptive preferences, between 74% and 90% of mothers surveyed want to work for pay at some point in their lives. Similarly, it can also be seen that when considering both home-centred and adaptive groups fully 91% of responding mothers want to consecrate time to the care of their own children in amounts varying according to age of their child. The pattern revealed by these preferences corresponds to the seasons in the life of a mother. There are seasons when the needs of her family call for more presence and investment in her children, and there are seasons when she feels free to work longer hours outside the home. The expected needs of her child (as indicated by the child’s age category in the survey questions) are a key determinant. To the oft-repeated question “What do mothers want?” we see a clearly logical answer. Most mothers want the possibility to commit to service away from their children only when they are satisfied that their children will not be diminished by the diversion of their focus. 19 Calculation: According to the data "Time Use Preference in the "Combination" Group of Mothers ( PT work/family care), for children less than 1 year old approximately 80% of "Combination" group mothers want to care full-time for infant. What proportion of total mothers does this represent? "Combination" group is 63% of total mothers responding to this question. So, 83% X 63% = 52% This is the proportion of the "combination group" mothers as expressed in terms of total mothers. Then this 52% is added to the group of mothers who desire to take full-time care of family, which is 26% of total mothers: 52% + 26% = 78% of total mothers want to care for infant 0-1 year full-time. 26 Reality versus preference: After asking respondents to express their preferences as to the use of their time, the questionnaire asked how their time was in actual fact presently allocated between the three options mentioned. The proportion is about 1/3, 1/3, 1/3, with 6% looking for a job. Fig. 20: And, in reality, what is your daily life schedule like? N=9938, one possible answer Variations in Actual Time Use On a regional and country-level, we see that the curves vary a great deal. Hungary and Finland have a similar curve with a high proportion of mothers having full-time employment (47% and 42% respectively). However we saw that their satisfaction level is very different. The UK and France show the highest percent of “stay-at-home” mothers with 43% and 41%; the lowest percent is in Italy and Spain with 20% and 22%. The highest percentages of mothers looking for a job are in Hungary, Spain and Italy. Fig. 21: And, in reality, what is your daily life schedule like? N=530 (Hungary) N = 1,160 (Spain) N= 2,566 (France) N = 192 (Sweden) Number of Children and Time Use Figure 22 reports a comparison of preferences expressed by as a function of the number of children they actually have. Mothers with 1 or 2 children show a slightly higher preference to work full-time with 15% and 13% respectively. On the contrary, mothers with 3, 4 or 5 children express a preference for homecare with 27%, 35% and 56% respectively. In reality, the number of children makes a big difference: mothers with 3 or more children are half as likely to work full-time and twice as likely to be home for full-time care of the family. The threshold appears to be when passing from 2 to 3 children. 27 Fig. 22: Impact of number of children and time use N = 10,142 for theory graph — N = 9,938 for reality graph As shown on the graphs in Figure 22, a mother’s expressed preference when responding ‘in theory’ is relatively little affected by the number of children she has. But in reality the number of children she has makes a very big difference in how she allocates her time between employment and family. Satisfaction with time use: Figures 23 and 24 relate satisfaction with employment schedule, with Figure 24 introducing the number of a mothers actual children as a variable. Figure 24 shows that with regard to their present work/life balance approximately a third of mothers are very satisfied, and another half are satisfied. About 20% are not satisfied with their current situation. Further breakdowns of responses were studied. These revealed the following points: On a regional-level, 45% of mothers in the Nordic countries say they are very satisfied. See Fig. 21 to view actual time use. On the contrary, in the Southern and Eastern regions, more than 25% of mothers reported dissatisfaction with their current time use of our respondents. In Hungary, 10% are very dissatisfied. The most satisfied mothers are by far the ones between 56 and 70. (They are out of the « rush hour » of motherhood.) 28 On the contrary the very young mothers (19-25) include strong opposites. Nearly 40% are VERY satisfied mothers, while also 6% are VERY unsatisfied. Mothers on maternity or parental leave and stay-at-home mothers are more likely to be satisfied, followed closely by self-employed mothers. Those working full-time report lower levels of satisfaction than those working part-time. Mothers who are in a partner relationship are more likely to be satisfied than single, divorced or separated mothers. Fig.23: How do you rate your current work schedule? N=9882, one possible answer Fig. 24: How do you rate your current work schedule? N=9882, one possible answer To obtain a better understanding of reasons for dissatisfaction, an open response question was placed in the survey questionnaire three weeks after the start of data collection. From that date forward, those who expressed lack of satisfaction were asked to explain why they were not satisfied with their current time use. 29 A total of 1025 explanations of sources of dissatisfaction were received and classified. The graph (Fig. 25) below shows that the majority (41%) just lack enough time to manage their life in general and balance both their work and family life. That brings dissatisfaction, stress and overtiredness. Fifteen percent are dissatisfied because they are unable to find the appropriate work that fits their time, salary and qualification requirements. Fourteen percent have responded by sharing their desires for alternative time use arrangements, especially for part-time work or full-time family care. The financial reasons (11%) were especially brought up by single mothers. Seven percent stated being dissatisfied with their current hour schedule or the work distance that is too far from home. A small proportion of messages from stay-at-home mothers say dissatisfaction with their time use is due to not feeling adequately recognized for their efforts. Others attribute dissatisfaction to difficulties to find appropriate daycare solutions. Fig. 25: Classification of spontaneous explanations of causes of dissatisfaction with current time use *More than half of them desire to take care full-time of their families. Here are some examples drawn from the 1025 explanations received. These highly poignant expressions are given in their original language. “C’est difficile de trouver un emploi permettant de tout concilier… les employeurs considèrent le temps partiel seulement pour des emplois non-qualifiés et subalternes”. “Je suis exploitante agricole, enceinte de notre 4ième enfant, et suis oblige de suivre une formation agricole pour adulte, et j’ai aussi la maison à tenir puisque je n’ai droit à aucune aide avec la MSA. C’est trop ! Je suis épuisée….” “I went back to work recently. I had requested a specific timetable and my boss said they could not accommodate because they are a small company and what I requested does not suit their business purposes. So I had to go back to work on a timetable that does not suit our family life! I would have not wanted to return to work until my son is of school age. 30 However, there are no specific benefits for mothers who choose to stay at home and take care of their children, even when they are, effectively, forming citizens. The British government does not seem to see the work a mother does at home as deserving of payment. Instead it pays in full for my son's childcare so I can go back to a job where I earn a wage so low it barely pays for my travel expenses. It's ridiculous!!” « ….La pauvreté ça touche surtout les femmes et les enfants de ces femmes. Pourquoi faut il choisir entre une situation professionnelle et une vie familiale ? Pourquoi se retrouve t-on du jour au lendemain en dessous du seuil de pauvreté quand on a fait le choix des enfants ? » « Je ne travaille pas et un contact social me manque. J'ai choisi de m'occuper à plein temps de mes enfants car je n'ai pas trouvé de travail satisfaisant tant au niveau de l'aménagement d'horaires qu'au niveau de l'intérêt du travail (j'ai eu un travail à mi-temps, qui était mal vu et mal ressenti dans l'entreprise, j'ai perdu toutes mes responsabilités et bon nombre de la gestion de mes dossiers à cause du temps partiel.) » « Après avoir arrêté mon travail pour m'occuper de ma famille ( mari et enfants), je suis inscrite à Pôle Emploi sans indemnités et sans espoir de retrouver un jour du travail rémunéré. / Les mères au foyer sont quantité négligeable et donc négligée. Si la valeur d'une personne dépend de son salaire comme il est admis communément, il est facile de calculer la nôtre: zéro. / On vante la réussite des " super mères" en oubliant que d'autres personnes qu'elles préfèrent payer s'occupent de leurs enfants en leur absence. / J'ai la chance d'avoir "encore " un mari qui ne m'a jamais reproché mon choix. / Je conseille à mes 3 filles de ne jamais s'arrêter dans le cas où elles auraient des enfants car leur niveau d'études (HEC, Supélec, ENSTA) leur assurera leur indépendance financière. » “M'occuper de ma famille me procure une joie immense mais je suis également très active au sein du monde associatif et cette activité n'est pas vraiment reconnu dans la société et sur les formulaires, car à défaut d'être salarié, tu ne peux pas mettre en valeur cette partie de mon temps et je me trouve entrain de cocher toujours la case mère au foyer. ce qui est un honneur mais sur ce point là la société ne valorise pas cette dimension. » “While it is perfectly possible for me to work effectively from home, my employer is very reluctant to allow me to do this. If I could work from home regularly this would improve my and my family's quality of life dramatically.” « Bonjour, / Je trouve que le débat autour de travail à l'extérieur et s'occuper de sa famille manque une donnée extérieure qui est le rôle social de la femme qui ne travaille pas de façon rémunérée et qui a du temps bénévole/gratuit à offrir à des voisins, proches, associations, en dehors de ses enfants. / Pour ma situation personnelle, je travaille sur les horaires scolaires de mes enfants que je retrouve donc lorsqu'ils sortent de l'école. Mais outre la fatigue, je n'ai plus de temps pour rendre service à ceux qui en auraient besoin autour de moi (comme prendre le temps de téléphoner à des personnes isolées qui ont besoin de parler, dépanner des voisins qui ne peuvent pas sortir de chez eux, préparer des repas pour des personnes malades ou très fatiguées, bref rendre des menus services sans valeur marchande mais qui créent un lien social, qui facilitent la vie quotidienne et remettent de l'espérance et de la fraternité dans la société. » « Travaillant à temps partiel je suis pénalisée dans ma progression en terme de responsabilités et en terme de salaire » « Si j'avais un salaire en tant que mère au foyer, je préfèrerai m'occuper de mes enfants car je réalise que c'est ce qui manque le plus à la jeune génération souvent trop délaissée et plus j'avance en âge plus je réalise combien la présence de la mère à la maison est source de cadre et d'attention.... Je ne passe plus assez de temps avec mes enfants hors c'est lorsqu'ils sont encore à la maison que l'on peut vraiment semer pour l'avenir. » 31 « De kinderen moeten veel te vroeg uit hun bed om mee te draaien in de mallemolen van een tweeverdienersgezin! De tijd met de kinderen is veel te kort om hen de nodige waarden en normen mee te geven zoals wij die van onze moeders gekregen hebben. / Een thuisblijvende moeder moet ook een vergoeding krijgen voor haar "werk". Mensen die niet gaan werken, krijgen een leefloon, maar een thuisblijvende moeder krijgt niks, zelfs niet het nodige respect voor wat ze allemaal doet ! » « J'ai commencé à travailler à 47 ans après avoir été mère à temps plein : j'ai repris des études à 40 ans, sans aucune aide financière de l'Etat ou autre, j'ai difficilement trouvé un employeur (pas d'expérience projet je travaille comme formateur vacataire, par CDD de quelques heures, suivant les besoins du centre de formation. Il y a un prévisionnel de formation qui peut avoir lieu ou pas, suivant le nb d'inscrits. Je réserve des jours qui peuvent ne pas être utilisés et je me retrouve sans contrat. Cela s'appelle la précarité. » « Je suis en permanence en train de courir dans les transports afin d'arriver à concilier vie professionnelle et vie privée. » On a country-level In Germany, 1 out of 5 mothers mentioned problems finding appropriate daycare solutions that are flexible and affordable. In Spain, daily working schedules are reported as being discontinuous (due to long lunch hours) and difficult to match with family life. Nearly one of two Spanish mothers, in their explanation of dissatisfaction, expressed their desire to be present full-time to care for their small children, to find part-time work compatible with family responsibilities, or to find employment that did not require working two shifts with long lunch breaks in between. Some examples of the above, translated into French: A mother in Spain says : « Il n'existe pas de flexibilité dans les horaires, si les enfant sont malades, on ne peut pas rentrer et travailler chez soi. Ce sont trop d'heures passées hors de la maison qui obligent à chercher une crèche et quelqu'un de responsable à la maison. » Another mother in Spain comments : « Je préfèrerai l'horaire continu, mais seulement le matin quand les enfants sont à l'école et rester à la maison l'après midi pour être avec les enfants et pour avoir du temps libre. Je trouve très intéressant de valoriser un travail par les objectifs et non par le temps passé au travail. » Yet another mother in Spain « Je pense que les premières années de la vie de l'enfant doivent être confiées aux parents et pas à des crèches. En Espagne, il n'y a pas beaucoup de choix pour pouvoir exercer comme maman à temps complet sans se sentir coupable de ne pas avoir un travail rémunéré. Je trouve que le rôle de la mère dans ces étapes du développement est vital pour une bonne croissance émotionnelle et mentale de l'enfant. » A mother in Germany says : „Karrierechancen hat nur, wer 45+ Stunden pro Woche arbeitet ("Präsenzzwang"); keine Möglichkeit, Arbeit auch zu Hause zu erledigen, obwohl das möglich wäre. Zu wenig Zeit für die Familie. Finanzieller Gewinn Vollzeit musste, als das Kind klein war,für Betreuung; jetzt für Haushalts- und Nachhilfe ausgegeben werden. Trotzdem kommt man im Job nicht weiter, weil Männer und kinderlose Frauen locker von 8:00 bis 20:00 arbeiten, egal wie ineffizient! Teilzeitjobs in meinem Beruf sind anspruchslos und langweilig, dazu schlecht bezahlt, also keine Option. » [French translation: « Faire carrière n'est possible qu'a partir d'un pensum de 45+ heures par semaine (contrainte de présence); 32 pas de possibilité de faire du travail a la maison, même si cela serait possible. Trop peu de temps pour la famille. Le salaire d'un temps plein était dépensé pour le gardiennage quand l'enfant était petit; maintenant l'argent passe pour le ménage et les cours particuliers. Malgré cela, on n'avance pas dans le job car les hommes et les femmes sans enfant peuvent travailler sans problèmes de 8 a 20.00 heures, même si ils sont inefficaces! Les mi temps dans mon métier ne sont pas exigeants, sont ennuyeux, en plus mal payés, donc pas d'alternative. » 33 9. Key policy messages: When mothers are given a voice, what will they say to policymakers? At the end of the survey, a significant open question asked what message the respondent would like to send to policy makers. Over 7000 mothers responded, many at great length and with evident emotion. Clearly, mothers were motivated by the opportunity to send a message which they hoped would be heard. Classifaction of Policy Messages: A sample of 6860 comments were treated by a group of in-country volunteers who read the comments written in their mother tongue. It was observed that a typical mother’s comment often included several distinct messages. The volunteers identified the messages in each comment then classified the messages using a uniform classification grid. The classification grid included 12 macro-categories and 46 micro-categories developed heuristically through study of the first 500 responses received. In addition to identifying the messages and categorizing them, the volunteers also selected a few of the most representative and relevant messages in each category and translated them into English for this report. Trends: Fig 26 summarises the frequency of messages coded by category. The most frequently recurring message category is related to work/life balance. Nearly one third (30%) of responding mothers sent a message about work/family life balance. Roughly another third of mothers sent messages about “Support of stay-at-home parents and Choice of Child care”20. The remaining third of messages concerned “Support of families/parents” (14%) and less recurring topics (less than 4% each) related to “Relationships”, “Education/schools”, “Gender equality” and “Diversity”. Fig. 26: Macro-categories of political messages brought forward by respondents to European policy makers CATEGORY # of % mentions WORK/FAMILY LIFE BALANCE 2652 30% SUPPORT STAY-AT-HOME PARENTS* 1150 13% FINANCIAL SUPPORT* 1152 13% SUPPORT FAMILIES 974 11% CHOICE* 866 10% MISCELLANEOUS 765 9% SUPPORT PARENTS 311 3% VALUES/RESPONSIBILITY 360 4% RELATIONSHIP 275 3% EDUCATION – SCHOOLS 245 3% GENDER EQUALITY 167 2% 24 0% DIVERSITY *The “Support Stay-at-home parents” represents actually 30% if you include the The results reported are “Choice” category that mainly consists of the possibility of choice for suggestive. Further analysis using childcare before school and make it financially possible that parents take care of their children. Half of the “Financial Support” category consists of having an more sophisticated methods of allocation/pension for stay-at-home mother/father. identifying message themes should be used to more fully reflect the value of this trove of information on mothers’ concerns and priorities. 20 The “Choice” category mainly consists of the possibility of choice for childcare before school and make it financially possible that parents take care of their own children. Half of the “Financial Support” category consists of having an allocation/pension for stay-at-home mother/father. 34 Fig. 27: Survey of Mothers in Europe; Macro-categories of political messages brought forward by respondents by country to European policy makers. Category GRAND TOTAL TOTAL % France TOTAL 8942 100% France % Belgium TOTAL Belgi um % 2215 100% 2247 100 % SUPPORT FAMILIES 974 11% 252 11% SUPPORT PARENTS 360 4% 105 5% 1150 13% 484 866 10% FINANCIAL SUPPORT 1152 WORK/LIFE BALANCE Hunga ry % Swede n TOTAL 913 100% Swede n% 456 100% Spain TOTAL Spain % 1630 100% Slovaki Slovaki Italy a a% TOTAL TOTAL 342 100% Italy % 522 100% Finlan d TOTAL Finlan d% 106 100% UK TOTAL UK % 511 100% 95 10% 66 14% 96 6% 86 25% 80 15% 20 19% 62 12% 4% 17 2% 33 7% 38 2% 21 6% 17 3% 0 0% 32 6% 22% 223 10% 84 9% 45 10% 114 7% 31 9% 26 5% 11 10% 132 26% 175 8% 321 14% 31 3% 123 27% 132 8% 9 3% 39 7% 14 13% 22 4% 13% 302 14% 378 17% 142 16% 58 13% 50 3% 75 22% 54 10% 34 32% 59 12% 2652 30% 497 22% 607 27% 364 40% 69 15% 845 52% 24 7% 179 34% 18 17% 49 10% GENDER EQUALITY 167 2% 40 2% 33 1% 21 2% 0 0% 47 3% 3 1% 14 3% 5 5% 4 1% EDUCATION - SCHOOLS 245 3% 76 3% 83 4% 14 2% 18 4% 13 1% 5 1% 7 1% 0 0% 29 6% VALUES/RESPONSIBILITY 311 3% 47 2% 83 4% 31 3% 8 2% 66 4% 34 10% 10 2% 0 0% 32 6% RELATIONSHIP 275 3% 63 3% 11 0% 19 2% 35 8% 72 4% 15 4% 3 1% 0 0% 57 11% 25 0% 3 0% 4 0% 6 1% 0 0% 1 0% 0 0% 4 1% 0 0% 7 1% 765 9% 171 8% 190 8% 89 10% 1 0% 156 10% 39 11% 89 17% 4 4% 26 5% SUPPORT STAY-AT-HOME PARENTS CHOICE DIVERSITY MISCELLANEOUS 217 10% Hunga ry TOTAL 97 1st 2nd 3rd 35 On a country-level, we see that work/family life balance is the dominant concern among our Spanish (52%) and Hungarian respondents (40%). This concern is also the issue most frequently expressed in Italy (33%), Belgium (28%), and France (27%). Fig. 28: Work/Family life Balance Micro-Categories of political messages brought forward by respondents to European policy makers WORK/FAMILY LIFE BALANCE MICRO-CATEGORIES Increase maternity/parental leaves Balance between work and education of children More flexibility Possibility and choice to work part-time Enough time for parents to be with their children More daycare solutions and better adapted to the live of the parents * More work and better working conditions Telecommute Increase # of days off for holiday and sick children TOTAL # of mentions 577 488 449 337 272 241 % 136 94 58 2652 5% 4% 2% 30% 22% 18% 17% 13% 10% 9% *More and better daycare solutions was also mentioned and classified in other macro-categories. In Spain, half of the respondents proposed work/life balance solutions. More specifically related to a “better balance between work and education of children/having enough time for parents to be with their children” (394 messages) and “an increase in maternity/parental leave” (278 messages). “It is very necessary that measures be adopted since before in Spain, we had the support of our mothers that took care of our children so that we could go to work. But who will help our daughters take care of their children?” “The education that our children receive will be crucial for the future of the world and it is important that these children can have enough time with their mother and father.” “Working hours need to correspond to the European ones, more compact and with less time to eat. Also, the work hours do not correlate with school hours, the academic holidays do not correspond to the labour ones. “It should be the parents who adapt to their children, and not them to their parents, (longer hours in nurseries, more extra-curricular activities…) In short, adapt the parents’ timetables to their children’s, instead of the other way around.” “Go deeper into the problem, work-life balance should go beyond the simple fact that it can be profitable for companies. It’s the welfare of our society that’s at stake. To bring our children up to be generous beings, capable of effort, united, oriented towards the future, without frustration and with energy to unify people and to care for life, we must take care of the families from the beginning, for a healthy emotional health. We must understand the human being and value life above money.” “For me, one of the important things is reconciliation. But to reconcile does not mean that I have more places where I can leave my kids when I work (either in class, after school or during the holidays). It means that we have enough options, flexibility in how to work, so I can decide if my child will be taken care of or if I will take care of him.” 36 “We need at least one year maternity leave, plus a leave of absence of a year keeping the job. We do not want more day nurseries we want our children with their families.” “Extend the fact that men can also reduce the working day, to relieve women from the fact their child is taken care of by a stranger and that the grandparents don’t carry the entire responsibility to allow both parents to work.” “It is necessary to work on the equality of gender in every life-area. We’ve had democracy for 30 years and there is still a lot of latent ‘machismo’.” In Hungary, work/life balance-related messages are mentioned by 40% of the respondents. 34% (123 out 364) of those messages demand “better working conditions in general” like more work, protection of the workplace, more family-friendly workplaces, higher salary for fathers, which was often not even mentioned in many other countries. Like the other countries, there is also a core demand for better recognition and support of families. “…To create jobs for the heads of families in order to feel themselves in security.” “More jobs are needed…” “Instead of social benefits create jobs where a father is able to earn so much money he could be able to support even a big family”. “My message is that fathers (breadwinners) must have a monthly earning which is enough to allow mothers to work only part-time.” “State child-caring institutions are needed which are suitable also for single mothers who are obliged to work even in the night and they can leave their children there during the night.” “ … The improvement of the quality of day-care institutions is essential.” “ Foster an evolution in the ambiance in the society in which the families (father, mother and children) are able to fulfill their roles and where to having children is not a heroic sacrifice because the common charges are proportionally distributed.” “Consider families and children as essential communities to be protected and who serve the common good of the society. Give them the possibility to choose which is the best way for them to live and manage their daily life and work. Recognise the burden they bear by educating children.” “Consider the family as a value and support improvement of the quality of family life by taking the family as a unit.” In Italy, the top two demands in work/family life balance were more “flexibility” (41 messages), “more opportunities for part-time work” (41 messages, usually paired with more flexible and accountable services) and the respect of the rights and competences of working mothers. An equivalent number (42) messages were also linked to a more familyfriendly taxation system. “Imagine you are woman willing to work, to improve yourself, and at the same time willing to be a mother. The priority consists in changing the working model: flexibility in working hours, exact job description, fixed salary and bonuses on reached goals, Health Insurance, Childcare centers at the workplaces…” “A better protection for working mothers, with more part-time jobs (I couldn’t obtain a part-time job!)” “Flexibility, part-time jobs, tax cuts on part-time jobs” 37 “Part-time should become convenient to employers, and so we need laws in order to make it convenient. Two part-time jobs should cost less than a full-time job!” “Children are the future of our society; families have to be helped in giving birth and raising children. Particular attention should be given to mothers, with laws protecting their work and their salary.” “A Family-friendly taxation system is needed, and more equity in payments and public spending. Unfortunately, politicians don’t understand that enabling families to spend money will help the recovery of the economic system.” “Helping families: Crèches and Baby-sitters should be deducted from taxes.“ “A Family-friendly taxation system, a social policy and different working conditions are necessary to help families.” “Consider the Family as a resource for the entire society, and therefore: real Family Policies, more crèches, flexible working hours for those willing to balance work and family life (part-time, telecommute, flexible hours…), a Family-friendly taxation system.” “Adopting a taxation system considering not the individual, but the family (couple+children+other dependent members), and considering children as persons totally in charge of the family (like the French quotient familial)” In Belgium, while many surveyed mothers did ask for an increase in maternity/parental leaves and more flexibility within the “work/family life balance category”, the most insistently demanded action was for a specific temporary allocation for stay-at-home parents (221 demands). Also in Sweden, fully 21% of the messages asked spontaneously for a similar allocation) and there were 142 calls for a better recognition of the role of stay-athome parents. “Revalue the status of home maker whether permanent or temporary (maternity leave, parental leave, career break,…)/the revaluation comes with better financial remuneration (I find it abject that people who are voluntarily unemployed earn more that a mother who takes 1 month of parental leave!!!)“ “Give mothers a reasonable status so that the ones who choose for maternity don’t have to choose between overtiredness (burnout?) or the beggar's staff!!!” “It’s important that working hours are not too long; make it easier to finish work earlier to pick up children in school. This concerns both men and women, both of us are responsible for our children » “It is now sometimes a punishment to have children for several reasons: /unfindable daycare centers with impossible opening hours (ex: from 7u.0 till 17.ur, if you live in Flemish Brabant or East-Flanders and work in Brussels – it does not leave you time to perform your work hours). / We should have at least, like in Luxembourg, a year of maternity leave, without problems. Also the additional parental leave must become more important. Nowadays, it’s like you give birth to children who are raised by others. I do not say that I entirely and definitely would like to stop working; I don’t think I could do that; but there should be the possibility to spend more time with your children, without financial repercussions. / Children are our future, we always speak about the demographic ageing etc, but you could now become frightened to start having children. /Make work of working mothers and their children! Give them quality time without they have to ‘beg’ for it.” 38 « To be able to reconcile school and work hours, at least till the children are 12 years old : 8 or 9 weeks of holidays when we only have 2 or 3 weeks leaves a lot of weeks were one needs to «scramble to place children either in camps or with the family. It’s sometimes an organisational nightmare to cover the whole period./ Have better and more childcare structures to welcome sick children. To wake up in the morning and to realise that your child has fever and that he won’t be able to go to daycare or to school is at least half a day of vacation consumed. How many times have I not heard that the first home nurse would be become available only in 3 days!” In France, the “work/life balance” issue was also brought forward by many French mothers (. One aspect in particular that caught our attention is the 137 messages asking for “more daycare solutions that are better adapted to the life of parents”. Another 152 messages asked for the possibility to choose freely between outsourced or in-family care. For example, they say: «Improve the childcare system ; there are not enough places and the opening hours are not convenient »» “…daycare in companies… » « That the working hours of mothers match those of the children and that mothers can take time off that is equivalent to the school holidays » «Improve the childcare system for preschool children » In certain countries the issue of work/life balance is not highly mentioned: Slovakia (4%), UK (10%), Sweden (15%), and Finland (16%). In Slovakia, the main message that respondents want to pass to policymakers is linked to support and recognition of families/parents with 31% (which is MUCH higher than the European average of 15%). Examples of quotes from Slovakia on this topic are: « A honest family = a honest citizen. A supported family = a supported society. A cultivated family=a cultivated citizen.» “I regret that it is the family that is actually marginalised in our society.» «Protect the family as a fundamental unit of society in all aspects. » « All positive ’investments in family not only help the family itself, but also the whole society will benefit from it (which will be multiplied).» “More respect for families with several children; they are the future of our society. One has to improve their life conditions.” « If you don’t have strong families, you won’t have anything. » « Think about all the children, couples, elderly as if it were yourself » «Improve family policy – everything that we invest in our children will be reimbursed by our future generations. » In the UK, the main demand from respondents to policy makers is to support the stay-athome parents (over 30%). Another particularity from the English respondents is the aboveaverage proportion of messages (11% versus 3% average) related to the importance of stable relationships, and in particular, the value of marriage as an institution. (To note, the UK is the country with by far the highest number of married and older mothers among respondents to the survey). Examples of quotes are: 39 “Love each other / forgive each other / respect each other / stick together.” “Marriage is what the family is about. A child needs a mother & a father who are committed to each other for life.” “To realise that our happiness comes from dependable relationships and not from the work that we do.” "Stop penalising us. Wake up to the reality of every survey ever which tells you clearly that children flourish with 2 parents of different sexes that are married for the long term. Equal does not mean identical so stop pandering to minorities as if it does. Different is different and usually it is not better even though there may be admirable individuals involved. Support, promote, encourage and reward 2-parent families who put in the effort to build and stay that way. “ “Provide relationship and parenting courses and help for those who are struggling including those in a stepfamily. Research shows that marriage is the most stable form of family in which to raise children - so promote marriage.” In Sweden, of the 456 different messages, 113 or 25% were directly linked to a claim for choice of childcare before school and for making it financially possible for parents to take care on their own children instead of sending them to daycare. “...Give us freedom of choice to stay at home with our children. We, the parents, have the right of decision over our children. Give us financial conditions to take care of our children and live on one salary” ”...Give all children the right to stay at home for AT LEAST 3 years… Let us as parents choose ourselves who of us will stay at home with our children. Give us parents the right to choose childcare and the number of hours our children will be there when we choose to start working.” “Let us have the right to choose ourselves. We are intelligent adults and more often than not capable of making the right decisions for our own family. … Surely it is for us to decide who is most suitable to take care of our infants? The state may well have a good child care system but we who choose alternative care should not be punished for it. Stayat-home moms are looked on as strange in our Swedish society. The most obvious and natural thing for a mother is to want to take care of her children – society is reprogramming us to think otherwise. What is the point of having children if you have to leave them at day care from seven in the morning to five at night and have others raise them?” “In the 1950s it was difficult for women to choose a career of their own, because they were supposed to stay at home with their family. Women are still as incapacitated as in the 1950s when it comes to making her own choices, she is more or less forced to walk the road set up for her by society.” “...I feel trapped in a feministic crusade, where I and my free will… do not exist… To increase the wellbeing of my family I would need to make better use of the little time I have with my children by being a full-time mother at home. I am young. I can work outside our home when they get older! Right now I miss out on their childhood, and their picture of mom is a stressed-out woman who does not prioritise them...but goes to work...SIGH!!!” 40 “Freedom in childcare. No child under the age of 3 should be left in day-care with many caretakers. No child psychologist recommends that.” In Finland, 34 of the total 105 policy messages (or 32%) fell within the “Financial support” category. More specifically, 23 of them were claims for an allocation for stay-at-home parents (mother or father). “One sum per child in order to make the choice to take care of our children ourselves or not…to take or not till the child is 18 years of age by the mother or the father. (Belgium) “Support to child-care at home (economic and mental), resources for the children’s wellbeing. Smaller group-sizes for day-care and schools” « ….allowance for “under-school age child”; salary like “temporary teacher/carer » (France) « More money to a mother who is taking care of children at home until he/she is three years old” “Better possibilities to stay at home for fathers in a way that takes into account equally different kinds of jobs, e.g. entrepreneurship” Finally, in the “Miscellaneous” macro-category, we can find very diverse messages that did not fit into the other categories. These messages were linked to difficulties of single mothers, sex education, pornography, homeschooling, education for parenthood, the media, alcohol and drugs, “assisting” spouses, misrepresentation of women and the family in the media. In Spain, 38 messages pled for policy makers to listen to them and show understanding of mothers’ situation. 41 The Single Mother: A Case Study This case study provides a brief comparative snapshot of questionnaire responses received from single mothers. Nearly 1500 (or 13%) of the responding mothers reported being single. The majority of them are divorced or separated. About 1 out of 4 reported being never to have been married or not living with a partner. Something more than 10% are widows.21 How do single mothers compare with mothers who are married/live in couple in our survey Slightly older: 46% are between 41-55 yrs old, 32% are between 26-40, 20% are above 56 Less educated: 23% only secondary vs 13% Much more likely to work full time with 48%(!) vs 26% 30% have a part-time work, same as the married/living in couple mothers Twice more likely to be unemployed (12% vs 6%) or self-employed, 10% stay at home vs 36% Majority wants to work part-time 63% (like the married mothers), but they tend to have a higher preference to work full-time (with 26% vs 9%) Slightly less likely to be satisfied with their current time use (75% vs 82%) Slightly more likely to live in the city More likely to have an immigration background (14% vs 10%) Slightly less likely to volunteer (still 51% report that they do volunteer! but less in schools) Muck more likely to be unsatisfied about their life in general (16% vs 5%) One out of 3 say they experience a difficult to very difficult family situation versus 8% (less than 1 out of 10): one of two mothers say it is due to the separation/divorce, followed by financial problems, solitude (on a side note: these mothers are twice as likely to be LESS depressed than married mothers though) Tend to have more difficulties in their relationship with their children (7% vs 2%) Are twice more likely to say having adequate lodging and finances as very important factors for their relationship with their children Single Mother Transition to motherhood There is an agreement from all surveyed mothers, single or otherwise, that the transition to motherhood is a huge responsibility, a huge challenge for which mothers sometimes feel little prepared, but above all incredibly rewarding and worth everything it costs. 21 Out of the 11,887 unique respondents to our survey, 1,488 are single mothers (25% separated, 41% divorced, 22% single, 13% widow). 42 When asked “If you could launch a message to the political world in order to increase the family’s well-being, what would it be?”, nearly 1000 of these 1500 single mothers responded, often at length. Half have been read and categorized. Here is what they said: The most frequently recurring spontaneous messages were: 210 related directly to reconciling work and family life. o 59 mentions of CHOICE between paid work and family care and more TIME for family care. o 44 mentions of more and better daycare solutions (eg: daycare at work). o 24 mentions of more flexibility (includes telecommuting). o 24 mentions of more possibilities to work part-time or jobshares (for men too). o 21 mentions of better synchronization between work hours and school hours and holidays. o 13 mentions of longer maternity/parental leaves. o 7 mentions on ways to improve the “re-entrance in the labor market.” 122 related directly to recognizing the role of stay-at-home parents. o 60 messages asking for explicit stay-at-home allocation. 118 related to supporting families in general and/or parents and recognizing their fundamental role in society in bringing up the next generation of responsible citizens, in prevention of delinquency, etc. o 34 messages related to the importance of the mother’s role in general. 93 related to gender equality (higher percentage than other respondents of the survey). o 45 mentions of more equality between men and women at work, especially in salary and access to work. o 22 mentions of involving fathers more. o 9 mentions asserting the specificity and complementarity, and necessity of mother and father roles in the family. o 5 mentions of equal share of tasks. 50 related to divorce (including shared custody, a topic reflecting much controversy: better justice and follow-up.) 42 related to school education o 24 asked explicitely for parenting and citizenship courses for adults. 41 related to listening to parents AND children 34 related to directly to helping, supporting and recognizing single mothers 30 miscelleaneous 23 related to violence: banish violence 15 related on importance and helping families stay together 11 related to housing 10 related to media 43 Some quotes: “Being a parent is the most important and difficult job. And yet, parents are left on their own, amongst huge difficulties.” “Aidez les mères à être de bonnes mères disponibles pour leurs enfants tout en leur permettant de réaliser d'autres désirs professionnels, c'est cet équilibre qui construira la société équilibrée de demain. Arrêtez de prôner la séparation des méres et des enfants petits car c'est ça qui détruira la société de demain. » « … Ne négligeons pas la priorité qui est d'éduquer nos enfants pour en faire des adultes responsables. » « Les enfants sont l'avenir politique et économique de chaque pays, c'est pourquoi il faut aider les mamans à les faire grandir correctement. Avant 3 ans un enfant a besoin de sa maman, lorsqu'il rentre de l'école l'enfant a besoin d'une oreille disponible, enfin comment faire évoluer une société égoïste et matérialiste si dès leur plus jeune âge les enfants grandissent seuls avec la télé? » “… There should be flexibility in the work place for school hours and school holidays however it is important that both employers and employees without children should not be penalised for having to provide for parents' absences and flexibility.” « 1/ améliorer la condition de la femme et surtout sa condition de mère. / 2/ ne pas restreindre ses droits (exemple sa pension) quand elle a fait le choix de rester auprès des enfants / 3/ favoriser sa réintégration dans le monde du travail quand elle a fait une pause carrière / 4/ tenir compte de ces années passées auprès des enfants dans l'évolution de sa carrière. » « …Comment donner de l'amour à un enfant si l'on est obligée de le placer plutôt que de pouvoir s'en occuper soi-même. …» « Avoir d'avantage une vision à long terme des problèmes et des solutions à y apporter. / / Reconnaître que le TEMPS d'éducation et de soins (le care) consacré à sa famille a une VALEUR ECONOMIQUE puisque c'est le même TRAVAIL que celui effectué par les "professionnel(le)s de la petite enfance ou des personnes âgées". … » « De prendre conscience de l'importance du travail de CARE, lorsque l'on voit tous les problèmes de société, des jeunes ado, face à l'alcool, la drogue, à la solitude, déjà dans le primaire, combien d'enfants n'ont-ils pas une clé qui pende à leur cou. Personne pour les accueillir après l'école, la tv, le PC et autres les empêche de faire les devoirs, il suffit de voir les problèmes de redoublement en primaire!!! Donner le libre choix aux femmes qui estiment que le travail familial à autant de valeur qu'un travail effectué en dehors de chez soi, sauf que ce travail donne un sentiment d'humanité au monde. » « Concilier les sphères publiques (profession, politique, activités sociales ... ) avec la sphère privée et familiale. / En tant que mère, notre implication dans la vie sociale est souvent compliquée. Nos hommes qui souhaiteraient vivre plus proches de leurs enfants ne sont pas biens compris non plus. / Tant que les hommes qui s'intéressent vraiment à leurs enfants ne seront pas mieux compris, nous aurons, nous les femmes des difficultés à accéder aussi librement qu'eux aux activités sociales et professionnelles. » « De pouvoir adapter les horaires de travail, des solutions pour avoir du temps pour ses enfants tout en gardant sa rémunération, ne pas être pénalisée dans sa carrière car on a des enfants. » « Des milieux d'accueil en nombre suffisant, non seulement pour les 0-3 ans, mais aussi pour les heures extra-scolaires. Des campagnes pour responsabiliser les pères dans les tâches éducatives. » 44 « Changer le monde commence par changer la manière dont la société considère ses enfants. » “Children need a full time parent” « On ne fait pas d’économie sur l’éducation des enfants qui seront la société de demain. » « Ecoutez plus nos enfants » « Prendre un peu plus en compte le bien être des enfants, et non le bien être des parents..... » “…stages obligatoires avant d’être parent,… » « Moins de perte de revenus quand on s’occupe de ses enfants à la maison. » « Créer des crèches d’entreprises, inciter les entreprises à améliorer la flexibilité des horaires pour gérer l’emploi du temps des enfants. » « D'accorder plus de disponibilités aux mères pour leurs enfants (surtout enfants bas ages: 0 à 1an et ensuite 1an à 3ans) donc rallonger congés maternité et parentaux- Réouvrir l'API avec un montant plus élevé. / Donner une prime aux entreprises qui embaucheraient des mamans à temps partiels qui sortent de leurs congés maternités et/ou parentaux ainsi que ceux qui embaucheraient des mamans "solos". » « Donner des avantages aux femmes pour qu'elles puissent rester chez elle les premières années de la vie de leurs enfants sans qu'elles ne se sentent pénalisées ou inférieures aux autres... » « Donner la possibilité aux mères de pouvoir choisir de travailler ou non, de pouvoir élever ses enfants ou les faire garder... / Pour celà que le rôle de la femme soit reconnu, valorisé et reçoive une rémunération. Que ce qu'elle fait économiser à l'état lui soit bonifié... » « Laisser aux mères le choix entre temps plein et temps partiel au-delà des trois ans de l'enfant, sans perte de rémunération, et surtout dans le cas des mères élevant seules leur(s) enfant(s). avoir accès à des solutions de grades d'enfants moins onéreuses et plus faciles d'accès, notamment en cas d'enfant malade, de façon à pouvoir continuer l'activité professionnelle lorsque la mère ne peut se retourner vers la famille ni se passer - financièrement - de cette activité professionnelle. » « Donner la possibilité aux mères d'un travail partiel calqué sur le rythme scolaire (ex un mitemps avec 4 jours par semaine et les vacances scolaires)ou le retour au travail de celles qui souhaitent s'arreter entre 25 et 40 ans pour élever leurs enfants. » BON Résumé : « Donnez-nous les moyens de faire des enfants. Prévoyez des solutions de garde suffisantes pour tous les enfants (suffisamment de crèches et de garderie ouvertes toute l'année!) / Augmentez le temps de congé maternité et prévoyez un congé paternité. Favorisez dans tous les domaines professionnels la possibilité de travailler à temps partiel, que ce soit pour les femmes ou les hommes. / Prévoyez des salaires minimum, afin que tous puissent choisir de travailler à temps partiel. / Mettez plus d'argent dans l'éducation avec la conscience que c'est un investissement de longue durée (des enfants qui vont bien, qui sont élevés par leurs parents et dans de bonnes conditions vont certainement être des adolescents et des adultes qui iront mieux! » « Mothers (and fathers) need to be able to stay at home when the child is under 3 and from then on the possibility to work from home when the children are ill, be able to leave work when the school finishes, and flexible hours around school holidays. What's the point of having children in they will spend 9 to 6 in school and school clubs and the same during most of the holidays, all family values deteriorate and die when there is hardly any contact between the family members.” « La société doit respecter la maternité. Il est absolument inadmissible que la carrière d'une femme compétente soit bloquée parce qu'elle s'est arrêtée de travailler (quelques mois ou quelques années) pour avoir des enfants et que les entreprises rendent la vie des femmes très 45 difficiles par des horaires peu flexibles ou des contraintes horaires (réunions tardives incompatibles avec les horaires scolaires ou des garderies par exemple). » “Mothers hold the future of society in their hands. They should be encouraged and treated with respect. Being a full-time mother is as important as working for a paid job.” “Reconnaissez le travail extraordinaire qu'effectuent les mères pour la société ! Aidez-les à l'effectuer dans la sérénité. » « Que la femme/mère puisse élever son enfant à la maison avec une aide adéquate du gouvernement jusqu'à ce que l'enfant aille à l'école. Cela supprimerait le chômage des femme/mères par une indemnité "enfant en bas-âge". En plus la femme pourrait se sentir valoriser tout en restant à la maison, car elle aurait un salaire comme "éducatrice temporaire". » « donner des moyens aux parents d’être parents » « een kindervriendelijk werkmilieu » « Des milieux d'accueil en nombre suffisant, non seulement pour les 0-3 ans, mais aussi pour les heures extra-scolaires. …» « …Des campagnes pour responsabiliser les pères dans les tâches éducatives. ….» « …Je pense qu'il faut laisser plus de place aux hommes qui veulent s'investir dans la sphere familiale(et pourquoi pas augmenter la durée du congé paternité) car je rencontre de plus en plus d'hommes désireux de s'occuper de leurs enfants ! …» « Diminuer le temps de travail des pères et mères (tous à mi temps) afin qu'ils soient en mesure d'élever ensemble et alternativement leurs enfants. Les enfants ont besoin de leur mère ET de leur père. …» « Egalité salariale entre hommes et femmes et modulation du temps de travail sur toute la carrière » “Families are the foundation of every society. If they are weak the nation is weak. More support is needed in every aspect of our society to make sure families of all types are secure and solid. All children are born innocent and loving, it is only their upbringing and society in general that turn them astray.” “Family well-being should be the most important issue in the political agenda of the political world. Sustaining families despite their form (two parents, single parents etc.) should be the primary goal of the politicians because this is the way people are living - even if they are single and live alone they are someone’s children and always belong to a family.” « …L'équilibre de la société repose fondamentalement sur l'équilibre au sein des familles; prévenir la délinquance passe par la reconnaissance de l'importance de l'éducation des enfants, qui ne doit pas être considéré comme un mal nécessaire par les employeurs, mais comme une richesse commune » « Je suis convaincue qu'une grande partie des problèmes créé par la petite délinquence trouve son origine dans l'éducation. Si les enfants étaient moins livrés à eux-même, si leurs parents étaient plus présents, il y aurait moins de délinquence. Investir dans l'éducation des enfants par l'école mais surtout par les parents, c'est faire un investissement à long terme. » “Focus more on prevention policies with the family including education, screening and support” « Accorder une garde alternée des enfants, non pas d'office comme actuellement mais après une enquête extrêmement approfondie et réfléchie (Examen médical, âge des enfants, conditions de logement, d'éducation, et surtout contrôle régulier et inopiné au domicile, à l'école etc...) Les enfants ont leur mot à dire et ne peuvent pas se faire entendre. Un manque de regroupement des organismes intéressés (Tout le monde est au courant mais seulement aucune réaction, on préfère se cacher derrière le secret professionnel) Ils réagissent lorsqu'un drame arrive, sinon RIEN. » 46 “Permettre à tous les parents d'être plus disponible pour leurs enfants, laisser leur place aux pères, la séparation du couple, lorsqu'elle intervient ne doit pas être la séparation de la famille, la résidence alternée doit devenir la première solution et les comportements exclusifs de parents doivent être plus sanctionnés, un enfant n'est pas un bien mais un être qui a besoin de ses deux parents pour se construire. La monoparentalité porte de nombreux torts à la construction psychique des enfants. » «Preventie rond scheiding. betere begeleiding bij scheiding en nazorg voor gezinsleden.” The Plight of the Single Mother To conclude this brief study of single mothers, we see that even though life is more difficult for the single mothers we surveyed than the ones who are married or in couple, their concerns, opinions and recommendations to improve their wellbeing and the wellbeing of their families do not differ significantly from all the other mothers. Single mothers want more time to educate their children; they want to be able to choose (and be enabled) to have a paid employment or to take care of their children at home when they are small. When their children are at school age, single mothers want to be able to choose for flexible employment that is in synch with their children’s school hours or holiday periods. Single mothers do not want to be sanctioned or penalized in the workforce because they are a mother or a parent. Single mothers want more and better day care solutions that are more adapted to their work pattern. Single mothers seek increased justice and respect as well as specific help and support with regards to divorce and shared custody. Single mothers often ask for more involvement of fathers at home and eradication of violence. While single mothers want their needs to be listened to, above all, they want their role and work as parent to be better recognized as the pivotal element in raising responsible citizens of tomorrow. They say healthy families are the foundation of a healthy society and investing in families is a long-term investment. 47 Summary The mothers with whom we have communicated think and care deeply about their lives as mothers. For the vast majority of respondents, their identity as mother has become the dominant element of their personal identity. And when they speak as mothers they want to be taken seriously by policy makers. Across all categories of mothers, we found many statements urging policy makers to acknowledge that families with children are the future of our society and to consider the multigenerational family as an essential resource for the entire society. Among the key messages transmitted by the mothers with whom we have consulted are: 1. Insistence on the specificity of their role and identity as mothers: Responding mothers share an awareness of being distinct from other women (according to Eurofound EQLS, 76% of all women 18 years or more in Europe are mothers) and can explain clearly their own transformation from woman to mother. This insistence should surprise no one. Recent European studies cited in this report show a consistent contrast in priorities, concerns, and perceptions between mothers and non-mothers. This distinction is independent of the degree to which mothers participate in the paid labour force. The distinction is not something that is present only among native European mothers or mothers who are in happy marital relationships or who may be pigeon-holed in of any other category system of classification. The differences run deeper than cultural expectations and persist across the full range of generations responding to the survey. Nor have ‘modern’ or ‘post-modern’ thinking of present generations effected a significant change. 2. A corollary of the above is that responding mothers see themselves not as generic “parents” but as a specific type of parent, equal to, complementary to and distinct from fathers, concerning whom mothers have certain clear expectations. While there are some differences by country among the messages (to policymakers) of the eight analysed countries, commonalities clearly overarch the differences. To highlight the variety of mothers’ messages, we selected in this document a bit more than 100 quotes out of the 6860 that were analysed. The top three themes dominate all national samples. These are the three recurring themes: Time: Respondent mothers clearly ask for measures that have a direct impact on their daily life to improve their work/family life balance: Enough time to care for and rear their children (especially the younger mothers who have children still at home) An increase in maternity and/or parental leaves More and better adapted daycare solutions including companies’ daycare centres More flexibility in their work schedule taking into consideration school hours and holidays More possibilities and opportunities to work part-time More family-friendly companies Choice: Surveyed mothers want a better recognition of the role of mothers and fathers who decide to stay at home (part or full time) to take care of their children. They want to have an economically-feasible choice between a outsourced care solution or a in-family care solution enabling mother or father to take care of their under school-age children themselves. 48 Recognition: Respondent mothers want a better recognition of the importance of « family care » and motherhood in society. They ask that families be recognized as a major resource for the entire society and as a source of social cohesion. By caring and raising their children, mothers and fathers are working for the future of our society. Less recurring topics were related to « relationships », « education/schools », « Gender equality » and « diversity ». 49 List of Questions of the “Survey of Mothers in Europe” The following provides the list of questions posed during the survey. Please note that these questions are not representative of the order they were presented to the respondents as some questions were profile-specific (thus posed to a specific audience). This questionnaire was translated in 10 languages. Q: Welcome! This survey has been prepared by the World Movement of Mothers, European delegation, (Mouvement Mondial des Mères, délégation européene or MMM Europe). The European Commission has initiated a research project, called FAMILY PLATFORM, to select topics for a future research project on the well-being of families. The MMM has been invited to this platform to be the voice of mothers and to accurately represent the mothers of Europe and express their priorities, challenges and concerns. This is the reason for this questionnaire. This questionnaire is ANONYMOUS and CONFIDENTIAL. It is made of about 25 questions about your CURRENT life and should take about 15-20 minutes to complete. This is an extraordinary opportunity to make the voice of mothers heard at the European level and to have a real impact on future European policies that affects families. Therefore, we thank you in advance for your support and help. FAMILY BACKGROUND Q1: I am the mother of ... Please indicate: Age Child 1 Child 2 Child 3 Child 4 Child 5 Q2: Do you have more than 5 children? Yes No Q3: Please precise: Age Child 6 Child 7 Child 8 Child 9 Child 10 Child 11 Q4: Do your children live with you? Yes, always Yes, sometimes No, never No, not anymore. They are independent now. Q5: What situation best describes you? Married Single Divorced Separated Remarried Live in couple Widower Q6: Do you live in a "recomposed/blended" family? 50 Yes No Q7: Do the children of your partner live with you? Yes, always Yes, sometimes No 1 2 3 4 5 and more Q8: If you were talking to a woman who is pregnant with her first child, how would you describe what it's like to transition into being a mother? RETIREMENT Q9: What plans have you made for retirement? Check any that apply. Pension Insurance Savings Investment in property Other, please explain: Q10: Regarding your retirement, what are your concerns? Check any that apply. Health issues Housing Financial issues Relationship with family Other, please explain: Q11: How do you spend or envision spending your time? Check any that apply. Part-time work Volunteer service Help with family Friends Hobbies Travel Educational opportunities Other, please explain: Q12: When talking about retirement, what is your housing or would be your desire for housing? I remain/want to remain in my own house or other independent housing as long as possible. I have/want independent housing, but close to one of my children or extended family. I live/would like to live with one of my children. If I am/become infirm or unable to care for myself, I am/will go to a retirement facility because I do not want to become a burden on my children. Other, please explain: Q13: How do you or will you provide for yourself? Check any that apply. I have an employment and will have a pension for myself/ I benefit from my pension I benefit/will benefit from my partner's pension. I count on my savings. Other, please explain: SATISFACTION Q14: In general, how satisfied are you of your current life as a mother? Very satisfied Satisfied Not very satisfied Very unsatisfied 51 Q15: Please indicate which factors are most important in contributing to the well-being of mothers in general and their families. Family and work-related factors are included. Very Less Not Does not concern me Important important important important or not applicable Spend enough time with your family Sharing of tasks, depending on availability Live in adequate housing and safe environment A better recognition of the role of mothers by society A better social security system Have more children When needed, to have help from family, friends or neighbors Access to training on parenting and couple relationship Harmonious communication in the family No abuse at home Love/respect and tolerance in our everyday life Spirituality Have access to leisure activities Racial and ethnic equality Regulation regarding time spent in front of a screen (TV, Internet, Mobile, MP3, etc.) Intergenerational solidarity Less consumer-oriented society Have choice between caring for your child on your own or appropriate childcare Control work/life balance Opportunities to work part-time Flexible working conditions (i.e. opportunities to work from home) Flexible work hours Longer paid maternal and/or parental leave Working hours matched with school hours Quality childcare solutions Other, please specify: OPINION & MESSAGE ABOUT WELL-BEING: Q16: If you could launch a message to the political world in order to increase the family’s well-being, what would it be? Q17: In this next-to-last section, we will ask for your opinion. The following lists some statements... How much do you agree or disagree with each one of them? Strongly Mildly No Mildly Strongly agree agree opinion disagree disagree Motherhood is well recognized and valued by society. Healthy and good relationships within the family promote PHYSICAL health of family members. Healthy and good relationships within the family promote EMOTIONAL health of family members. Mothers are the engine of the social and emotional relationships of a family. A mother’s influence goes far beyond the home and contributes to the cultural, economic, and social development of her country. (Ban Ki Moon May 2009) The service mothers perform for their children should be recognized as important work. Mothers would have more children if they did not have to work. 52 Strongly Mildly No Mildly Strongly agree agree opinion disagree disagree Mothers would have more children if they had access to better childcare. Policy makers should always consider impact on families when preparing governmental policy. Mothers should receive credit for unpaid care work in home for a pension. Mothers have to work to ensure their pension. Mothers find paid work more fulfilling than raising their children. Adolescents can take care of themselves after school. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. (Article 16 Universal Declaration of Human Rights) Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security (Article 22 Universal Declaration of Human Rights) SOCIAL-DEMOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND Q18: We are fast approaching the end of this questionnaire: still a few more questions to go: How old are you? Less than 18 19-25 26-40 41-55 56-70 71 and + Q19: Which is the highest degree of education that you achieved? Primary Secondary GCSE (or equivalent) A levels (at 18 years old) University Q20: What best describes your current employment status? Employee Manager Worker Unemployed Self-employed Full-time mother On parental leave (i.e. maternity leave) Retired Other Q21: What best describes the current employment status of your PARTNER? Employee Manager Worker Unemployed Self-employed Full-time father On parental leave (i.e., paternity leave) Retired Other Q22: Do you volunteer? Yes No Q23: Please describe in which area? 53 Non-profit associations Hospitals Schools Community aid Other Q24: Are you member of a religious community? No Yes, Catholic Yes, Protestant (Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Calvinism, Baptism) Yes, Orthodox Yes, Muslim Yes, Judaism Yes, Buddhism Yes, Hinduism Yes, other. Please describe: Q25: Is religion important to you? Yes No Q26: Please select the country you live in? UK Germany Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Croatia Denmark Spain Estonia Finland France Greece Hungary Italy Ireland Latvia Lithuania Luxemburg Malta Norway The Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland Czech Republic 54 Q27: Where do you live? Capital city of my country City Countryside Suburbs Q28: Has your family a migration background?(Father and/or mother and/or grand-father and/or grandmother) Yes No Q29: THANK YOU The MMM Europe would like to thank you for your support. We really appreciate the precious time you gave us. Please rest assured that we will do everything possible to be your spokesperson and relay your demands as accurately as possible. If you would like to receive an update on the FAMILY PLATFORM project, please leave us your email address. And/or don't hesitate to give us any comment or suggestions below or via email at [email protected]. (Your personal data will be treated confidentially.) Thank you again! Email Comments or suggestions TIME USE Q30: Surveys* have asked women their preferences concerning paid work. About 20% choose to center their lives on a career, about 60% would like to combine paid work with family care duties, and about 20% would prefer to center their lives on full-time unpaid family care duties. *Dr Catherine Hakim, London School of Economics: "Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century: Preference Theory" (Oxford University Press, 2000) What would be your preference? I prefer a full-time career work I prefer some combination of part-time work and family care duties I prefer to take full-time care of my family Q31: In combining family care duties with the opportunity for paid work, if it were not absolutely essential for financial reasons and there is no other compelling need, what would be your preference when you have an : OR You have selected a combination of part-time work and family care duties. If you had the choice, which option would you choose depending on the children's age periods below: Full-time workPart-time workTake care of my family full-time Les than 1 year old 1 - 3 years 4 - 6 years 7 to 11 years 12 to 18 years 19 to 25 years 26 years + Q32: And, in reality, what is your daily life schedule like? I have a paid full-time job I have a part-time job I take care of my family full-time I am looking for a job Q33: How do you rate your current work schedule? Very satisfied Quite satisfied Unsatisfied Not at all satisfied Q34: Please explain why you are unsatisfied about your current work schedule. 55 INTERGENERATIONAL SOLIDARITY Q35: The topic of this section is about your "social network". In your daily life, where do you turn for help and for which reasons? Please indicate a time notion too: REGULARY, OCCASIONAL or NEVER. To take care of To provide To take care To take care my child(ren) emotional To provide Not of my of some To provide when they are support and financial Applicable child(ren) household transportation ill or during adult help when I work tasks school holidays companionship Regularly Regularly Regularly Regulary Regularly Regularly Not Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Applicable Never Never Never Never Never Never My partner My parents Other family members, friends or neighbors Q36 : To take care of my child(ren) Not To take care of my when they are ill or on school applicable child(ren) when I work holiday Regularly Regularly Not Occasionally Occasionally Applicable Never Never To take care of household tasks Regularly Occasionally Never External services (i.e daycare center) Internal services (i.e nanny, cleaning services) Q37: On the contrary, who turns to you for help and why? Please indicate a time notion: Regularly, occasionally and never. To take care To take care To provide of their To take care of some emotional To support Not child(ren) of To provide To provide small daily support and them applicablein case of household health care transportation tasks (i.e., adult financially friends and tasks groceries) companionship family Regularly Regularly Regularly Regularly Regularly Regularly Regularly Not Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally Occasionally OccasionallyOccasionally Occasionally applicable Never Never Never Never Never Never Never Parents Other family members, friends or neighbors FAMILY RELATIONSHIP Q38: This section talks about your family relationship. How would you describe your current family situation? Very good Good Difficult Very difficult Q39: What are the reasons of your difficult family situation? Death of one family member Violence inside the family Marital break-up 56 Addiction (Alcohol, drugs) Depression Loneliness Blended family Racial discrimination Other, please explain: Q40: Regarding your relationship with your child(ren), we realise that this may vary based on his/their character(s) and the moments of life. Despite that, how would you describe your OVERALL relationship with your child(ren)? Very good Good Difficult Very difficult Q41: Please indicate which factors are most important in influencing your relationship with your child(ren). Very Not very Important Unimportant important important Have sufficient time to spend with them Have sufficient time to help them when necessary (i.e.: homework) No stress at home Influence of my child(ren)'s friends Influence of the media and time spent in front of a screen (TV, Internet, GSM, MP3) Maintain harmonious and stable family relations To be able to set and maintain boundaries or limits To have sufficient income to meet needs Live in adequate housing Other, please describe: Q42: In reality, are these factors applied in your family? Absolutely Nearly A little bit Absolutely not Q43: How would you describe your relationship with your partner? Very good Good Difficult Very difficult Q44: Please indicate which factors are most important in influencing your relationship with your partner. Very Not very Important Unimportant important important To have sufficient time for each other No stress at home Agreement/disagreement on how to rear our children Sharing of tasks, depending on availability Regulation of time spent in front of a screen (TV, Internet, GSM, etc) Relationship with your extended family (parents, brothers/sisters, etc) Financial situation Share of same values Respect, love and tolerance Quality of sexual relationship Other, please explain: Q45: In reality, are these factors applied in your family? 57 Absolutely Nearly A litte bit Absolutely not 58 ANNEX European Associations Aiding in the “Survey of Mothers in Europe” The following is a non-exhaustive list of associations and people who were initially contacted for help with the Survey of Mothers in Europe. The majority helped to disseminate (by word-of-mouth) and participate in the survey. Some have provided valuable scientific advice with the survey. While we know with certainty that some have supported this project with enthusiasm, there may be others where we don’t know of their support. We express our gratitude to all the people and associations for their support. ACCION FAMILIAR ACFL ACTION CATHOLIQUE DES FEMMES DU LUXEMBOURG ACTION FAMILLE-ACTIE GEZIN AD AUTREMENT DIT AFAMMER AFC CONFÉD. NATIONALE DES ASS. FAM. CATH. AFEM FEMMES EUR. MÉRIDIONALE AFEM, AFR ASSOCIATIA FEMEILOR DIN ROMANIA WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF ROUMANIE ALLIANCE FOR CHILDHOOD EUROPEAN NETWORK ANDANTE ANEP APFN FAMILLES NOMBREUSES ARBEITSGEMEINSCHAFT DER DEUTSCHEN FAMILIENORGANISATIONEN (AGF) E.V. ASSEMBLAGES ASSOCIATION POUR UN NOUVEAU FEMINISM EUROPÉEN BICE BUREAU INTERNATIONAL CAHOLIQUE DE L'ENFANCE CARE CARE FOR EUROPE CARITAS CATHEDRA DE POLITICAS DE FAMILIA UNIVERSIDAD COMPUTENSE-FUNDACION ACCION CEACCU CONFEDERATION ESPANOLA DE AMAS DE CASUMIDORES Y USUARIOS CENTRE FOR LABOUR STUDIES (UNIVERSITY OF MALTA), CENTRE PLURIDISCIPLINAIRE DE LA PERSONNE CFFB COMMISSION DES FEMMES FRANCOPHONES DE BELGIQUE CHANT D’OISEAU CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO THEIR PARENTS CLUB L BENELUX CONFEDERATION OF FAMILY ORGANISATIONS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (COFACE) CURAM DEUTSCHE GEZELLSCHAFT FUR HAUSWIRTSCHAFT E.V. DEUTSCHER ARBEITSKREIS FUR FAMILIENHILFE E.V. DONUM VITAE DROIT DE NAÎTRE DUMCF ECOLE DES PARENTS 59 ELFAC ENFANT SANS DROGUE EUROCHILD EUROFOUND EUROPEAN CHILDREN NETWORK EUROPEAN FORUM OF MUSLIM WOMEN EUROPEAN MUSLIM NETWORK EUROPEAN VALUES NETWORK EVANGELISCHE AKTIONSGEMEINSCHAFT FÜR FAMILIENFRAGEN E. V.(EAF) FAMILIENSERVICE GMBH FAMILLES RURALES FAMILY PLATFORM Consortium and Advisory Board’ members FÉDÉRATION DE LA MÉDAILLE DE LA FAMILLE FRANÇAISE FEDERCASALINGHE FEFAF FEDERATION DES FEMMES ACTIVES AU FOYER FHF FEMMES/HOMMES & FOYER FIT FOR KIDS FORO ESPANOL DE LA FAMILIA FORUM DELLE ASSOCIAZIONI FAMILIARI FORUM EUROPÉEN DES FEMMES FTM FULLTIME MOTHERS GEZINSBOND HARO FREEDOM OF CHOICE EQUALITY AND PARENTHOOD HOGER INSTITUUT VOOR GEZINSWETENSCHAPPEN HOGESCHOOL UNIVERSITEIT (Joris Dewispelaere) HOME RENAISSANCE FOUNDATION ICCFR INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON COUPLE AND FAMILY RELATIONS IEF INSTITUTE FOR MARIAGE AND FAMILY IFHE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR HOME ECONOMICS INSTITUT FÜR DEMOGRAPHIE, ALLGEMEINWOHL UND FAMILIE E.V. INT. FED. FOR FAMILY DEVELOPMENT IPFE INSTITUT DE POLITIQUE FAMILIALE KAT. FAMILIENVERBAND OST. KMR KLUB MNOHODETNYCH RODIN LECHE LEAGUE BELGIUM LIGA FUR DAS KIND LIGA VOOR HET KIND MADRINA FUNDACION MARIAGE CARE, MOIC (MOVIMENTO ITALIANO CASALINGHE) MUMSNET MURS BRISES NOE NAGYCSALADOSOK ORSZAGOS EGYESULETE OBSERVATORY FOR SOCIOPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPE OHFU ÖSTERREICHISCHE HAUSFRAUEN-UNION PARENTS FORUM PSYCHOENFANTS SPAF SYNDICAT DES PERSONNES ACTIVES AU FOYER TAKING CARE OF THE WORLD FUNDACJA ZADBAC O SWIAT THE FAMILY WATCH THE MOTHERS UNION UMC ÚNIA MATERSKYCH CENTIER, O.Z.) 60 UNFAEF UNION NATIONALE FEMMES ACTIVES AU FOYER UNION MONDIAL DES ORGANISATIONS FÉM. CATH UNIVERSITÉ CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN (Bernard Fusulier & Jacques Marquet) VFFM VERBAND DER FAMILIENFRAUEN UND MÄNNER E. V VILLE DE BRUXELLES (Chantal Noël) WORLD FAMILY ORGANIZATION WORLD YOUTH ALLIANCE WOW WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN 61 About the World Movement of Mothers Like today’s European Union, the Mouvement Mondial des Mères (means World Movement of Mothers) or Make Mothers Matter has its roots in the devastation of World War II. Mothers gathered in Paris to pledge their support and efforts to the construction of a peaceful Europe. Their organisation developed to the point that the movement under its original name in French, Mouvement Mondial des Mères, became one of the earliest civil society organisations to be accredited by the United Nations. Mothers saw themselves as leaders, educators, and peacemakers not only in the elemental basic unit of society, the family, but also in their neighbourhoods and in the wider community. In the eyes of the founding mothers, peaceful societies had to be built from the base upward, the process being energised by the civilising and organising energy of the world’s mothers and fathers. The archives of the Mouvement Mondial des Mères contain a remarkable trove of materials witness to the vision and energy with which these mothers have been engaged in the cause of peace building. They were also prodigious networkers, issuing newsletters and questionnaires to their ever expanding membership, and reporting their findings at international conferences22. From the earliest days of the Movement, the Mothers gave their time freely, working as unremunerated volunteers. To this day, unpaid volunteer service is the rule of the organisation. Its vast membership and its active leaders give of themselves for the purposes of strengthening mothers in their family role and intervene at all levels of community to promote peaceful dialogue and the wellbeing and social sustainability of human society. In 2003, MMM created a permanent delegation to the European Union in Brussels. This EU delegation has become MMM Europe, a partner in the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Family Platform project. Among its assignments in the Family Platform was the charge to report on the situation of mothers in Europe and to critically review research on families from the mother’s point of view. MMM Europe’s aim was to ensure that the experiential knowledge of Europe’s mothers would be reflected in the output of FAMILY PLATFORM. The principles guiding the work of MMM Europe are To give voice to the concerns of Europe’s mothers, accurately reflecting their opinions and their realities. The aim of MMM Europe is not to speak ABOUT mothers but to make THE VOICE OF MOTHERS heard in policy circles. 22 MMM’s European and international surveys include the following: in 1982 MMM surveyed two thousand mothers on the interchangeability and specificity of parental roles. The results became the basis of a study day at the Palais de Luxembourg in Paris where delegates came from the United Nations, UNESCO ministries of European states and NGOs. By 1989 the critical policy question was “Who is minding the education and development of children?” Again the mothers held an extended dialogue among their membership resulting in a research report and conference. In 1993, following a UNESCO conference on street children, MMM launched a survey of two thousand parents, adolescents, and children to explore the meaning of parental “presence” and “representation” in the life of their children. The results were shared with policy makers and civil society representations. The year 1997 marked the 50th anniversary of the World Movement of Mothers. MMM celebrated by presenting the results of a survey on the role of mothers in family health at a World Health Organization conference. In 1999, MMM presented the results of its survey on unpaid work in the home at a UNESCO conference. 62 To identify and give visibility to the strong commonalities which cut across cultural, linguistic, political, economic, and social classifications of mothers and families The 2011 Survey of Mothers in Europe is the first stage of a new round of dialogue with the mothers of Europe. As this dialogue continues it will be reflected in reports and working papers posted on the website of MMM Europe: www.mmmeurope.org. 63