Excerpted from introduction
For the past 50 years, women and many others have been organizing and advocating for universal access to quality and affordable Early Childhood Education – including childcare, kindergarten, and family resource centre programs.
For generations, Early Childhood Education has been considered an individual responsibility, a women’s issue, a children’s issue, or a worker’s issue. e pandemic taught us that Early Childhood Education is everybody’s issue, and a critical public policy issue for governments.
More than 1.5 million women lost jobs in the first two months of the pandemic. As workplaces and services began to reopen, it was difficult for families to get back to work without adequate access to childcare and other types of Early Childhood Education. e burden of that reality fell on women. We know that women in Canada contribute about 40% of household income. Early Childhood Education is key to the economy, and economic recovery.
Without high-quality Early Childhood Education, children, families, and communities don’t reach their full potential. Parents (mostly mothers) leave the workforce to make sure that children have a safe and nurturing place to spend their early years. Children miss crucial developmental opportunities to socialize and learn with their peers. Families with young children leave our communities and province and seek out places where they can pursue their careers and raise their children. With high-quality Early Childhood Education, current and future workers, families and communities, the labour market and the economy all benefit.
Without high-quality Early Childhood Education, children, families, and communities don’t reach their full potential. Parents (mostly mothers) leave the workforce to make sure that children have a safe and nurturing place to spend their early years. Children miss crucial developmental opportunities to socialize and learn with their peers. Families with young children leave our communities and province and seek out places where they can pursue their careers and raise their children. With high-quality Early Childhood Education, current and future workers, families and communities, the labour market and the economy all benefit.