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Many software and multinational companies provide 'baby care' centres for their employees. It generally helps (married) women to do their work peacefully as the employees or maids in baby care centres take care of children's needs till the completion of working time. It seems to be an essential provision for couples with babies.

In India, many married women drop the idea of working in academia after completing studies for baby care, and it is very rare to find such provisions in educational institutions. Without the provision, it is extremely difficult for women to take of their babies during working time. During workshops and conferences, I hear the struggles (or I can say agony) faced by several senior lady faculty in academia due to the absence of child care.

As it is hard to find campuses that provide on-site baby care, I want to know the name(s) of countries where the colleges/educational institutes/universities actively provide child care centers for employees.

What is/are the name(s) of countries where more universities provide on-site childcare centers for their employees?

Note: In fact, I want to know the countries where the academic institutions are conscious enough and take the responsibility of providing child care for their employees to facilitate the work.

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    "It seems to be an essential provision to be provided for married couples" - Marriage is neither a prerequisite nor a guarantee for having children. Many unmarried people require childcare. Many married people do not.
    – Bryan Krause ♦
    Commented Jun 20, 2022 at 16:32
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    What about countries where colleges/education institutes/universities have nothing to do with providing child care centers, because providing child care facilities is the responsibility of other entities (e.g. cities, the state, supportive organisations that are formally not a part of the institution, etc.)? In these places, your concerns would be taken care of, but they would not fit the question as currently written, so it's not clear how narrow the question is intended.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Jun 20, 2022 at 17:26
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    @O.R.Mapper Actually the question is to know only the names of countries in which the (major) academic organizations themselves provide the provision.
    – hanugm
    Commented Jun 20, 2022 at 17:36
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    One model that I have seen in numerous countries involves a private company operating a child-care facility on campus, using buildings/space leased from the university - much as there might be an on-campus branch of Starbucks [other coffee providers also exist]. Sometimes university employees and students get priority for places, and/or reduced fees; sometimes not.
    – avid
    Commented Jun 20, 2022 at 18:13
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    Actually, you don't even have to be woman to require childcare. It would be great no to propagate the stereotype childcare = womans work.
    – Sursula
    Commented Jun 21, 2022 at 0:28

2 Answers 2

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Let me start my answer by pointing out that not only mothers need child support, but fathers as well (or rather, parents in general).

Most countries in Europe have state-organized childcare that is either free or affordable, so there is no need for the employers (in this case the universities) to offer additional childcare on top.

But e.g. at my university (one of the larger ones) in Germany, there is a kindergarten (child care center) on the premises, that is integrated into the normal state system, but preferably takes on children of students and employees at the university. People don't see this as much of an advantage, though, as they prefer a childcare close to the place of residence rather than at the place of work. If you e.g. work from home a couple of times a week or during semester breaks, you would have to bring your child to the uni to the childcare and have to commute even though you normally wouldn't have to.

They also offer additional short time "emergency" childcare that you have to book per hour and that you have to pay a small amount of money for per hour.

So from a point of view of living in a country with well organized general childcare: it is much more sensible to look for countries that offer childcare than to look for single institutions that offer it.

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    Another reason for preferring local child care over university child care is that kids develop friendships in child care. Local child care attract children from the direct area, so a kid can just walk to his/her friend, or go to the local play area in the weekend and meet her/his friend. The university childcare attract children from a larger area, making it harder for the kids to play with their friends outside "work hours".
    – Maarten Buis
    Commented Jun 21, 2022 at 9:45
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Here is one example from the US:

Childcare

UC Berkeley operates five centers on or near the UC Berkeley campus which serve University families.

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  • Probably worth noting that these are fee-based offerings (though subsidies seem to be available according to need; it's not immediately clear to me what the extent of those subsidies can be expected to be for someone with a salary in the range of a professor).
    – Bryan Krause ♦
    Commented Jun 20, 2022 at 18:04
  • @BryanKrause sure, it is fee-based like practically everything else in the US.
    – Dan Romik
    Commented Jun 20, 2022 at 18:20
  • Yes, it's not really clear what OP means by "provide provision". On-site child care certainly has potential to be more convenient, but it isn't necessarily more affordable than other options (though right now finding any child care, particularly for very young kids, has become nearly impossible in many places in the US). So, is that a provision, or not? I don't know.
    – Bryan Krause ♦
    Commented Jun 20, 2022 at 18:23
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    @BryanKrause I answered the question as it was asked. I’d love to engage in an extended discussion about the woeful state of child care in the US. Sadly, being a parent to young children I don’t have the time for such frivolities these days…
    – Dan Romik
    Commented Jun 20, 2022 at 18:31
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    It is also necessary to note, for non-US readers especially, that this isn't ubiquitous in the US. It isn't a national program, but one offered by a specific university.
    – Buffy
    Commented Jun 21, 2022 at 0:01

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