Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Monika Bütler studied mathematics and is an honorary professor at the University of St. Gallen, where she served as a full professor of economic policy and director of the Swiss Institute for Empirical Economic Research, which she co-founded, until 2021. She is a board member at Huber+Suhner, Schindler Holding and Swiss Life. Monika Bütler is considered one of the 10 most influential economists in Switzerland. In 2007, she published a study “Working does not pay off – a second child even less”, in which she examined the effects of income-dependent childcare prices on the work behavior of women. The study’s results question the compatibility of career and family in Switzerland.
34% of children attend childcare because the middle class can hardly afford it.
Switzerland invests 0.1% of its GDP in childcare, while 0.8% of its GDP goes into the military.64% of children between zero to two years old from high-income families attend childcare.
The middle class has to spend 46% of the family income on childcare.
The findings of the study were the trigger for the founders of globegarden to take action. They believed: not every woman must want to work, but everyone who wants to should be able to. What has changed after 15 years regarding the study’s results? Despite some progress, the fundamental message of the study is still relevant. Childcare continues to be a private matter and thus usually a woman’s issue.
On the path to equality
In 2007, Monika Bütler not only found that those who work more also have to pay more for external childcare for their child. Alarmingly, the additional costs often exceed the second income. State support for childcare in Switzerland is income-dependent and particularly has a negative influence on the income of well-earning women. This leads to many families no longer receiving subsidies and childcare costs rising as women increasingly work and earn more income.
The middle class is affected
Especially for families with middle incomes, this is a problem. The average per capita income is about 80,000 Swiss Francs. This means that parents who work full time at the average wage must bear the costs of childcare privately; about CHF 32,000 per child. A significant financial burden.
For dual-earning middle-class parents with two childcare children, around 46 % of the earnings go to care (practically the full second income); state-subsidized single parents spend 10.4 % of their income. This is reflected in childcare usage: Only 34 % of children in Switzerland are cared for in a childcare; because the working middle class can hardly afford it. However, Swiss families with high incomes send their children aged zero to two to childcare centers about 64 % of the time.3
Empower women, secure the future
Monika Bütler’s study emphasizes the role of childcare costs in relation to parental income. It remains a fact that women are more likely to work part time and, from an economic point of view, earn 18 % less than men, which has significant financial consequences for their retirement provision and often leads to an inevitable career break. Today’s legal decisions emphasize the self-responsibility of women for their financial independence. The once life-shaping institution of marriage has changed according to Federal Court rulings, and divorce rates in Switzerland have reached around 41 %. Not least, the shortage of skilled workers highlights the necessity of investment in childcare infrastructure.
Courage is like change – just sooner
A revision of the system is necessary as it disadvantages well-educated and ambitious parents of the middle class. This results from the limited accessibility to childcares, due to low investments in childcare compared to other expenditures. While Switzerland spends 0.8 % of its GDP on the military, the investment in childcare is only 0.1 %. And while only 34 % of children are cared for in childcares here, the figures are 78 % in Germany, 80 % in Sweden, and 99 % in France. Not every woman must want to work, but everyone who wants to should be able to. A realignment requires courage.