4. The Controversial School Holidays Episode

We have just had the school holidays (again) here in New Zealand. I have had five years of school holidays and have had a child (or two at some points) in early childhood education for a decade now. My youngest is three and a half so I have another 18months of early childhood education and a further 15 or so years of school holidays ahead of me. This is much, much deeper than what it appears on the surface. In this episode I tackle this huge, hard topic. Be prepared it is going to be confronting for some. I pull apart our gender pay gap, occupational segregation, the reasons why women return to work and DO NOT return to work (or leave the workforce). I explain how this impacts our wellbeing and why it desperately needs to be challenged.

Important New Zealand Research Discussed: 

Noy, S & Sin, I (2021). The Drivers of Mothers’ Parental Leave Decisions: Evidence from the Growing Up in New Zealand Longitudinal Survey. 

Sin, I., Dasgupta, K & Pacheco, G. (2018). Parenthood and Labour Outcomes. Ministry of Women. 

Statistics New Zealand (2015). Women at Work 1991-2013. Available from www.stats.govt.nz