Mamás Trabajadoras: An Evaluation of Policies that Incite Maternal Participation in the Labor Force in Spain and the European Union

While the past few decades have seen women advance their labor force participation, formal work still remains less accessible to them—often as a result of their responsibilities to care for young children at home. This paper investigates the effect that Early Childhood Education and Care policies have on female labor force participation rates across Spain and the European Union through a mixed research design, with both quantitative and qualitative analysis. After a cross-national comparison of case studies, it concludes that these policies increase female labor force participation rates, allowing women to reconcile their identities as both mothers and career women