all have excellent child-care facilities. In France the écoles maternelles play a big part in allowing women to go out to work, and the Nordic countries are famous for their affordable day-care centres with well-qualified staff. In Finland local authorities must guarantee a place for every child under three. Parents on low incomes get it free; the betteroff pay up to €250 ($340) a month. The centres are open from 7–8 am to 5–6 pm and provide breakfast and lunch. School hours for older kids are similarly work-friendly, about the same as an adult working day, with a free lunch. A study by the ILO of child care in ten countries last year found huge national differences. In some countries nurseries are seen as a public entitlement, rather like schools. In others, the care of young children is considered a private matter. Most countries come somewhere in between. How quickly women should return to work after having a child is a difficult question. Clearly, they need time to recover physically, to get the baby into a routine and to find child care, so something longer than the basic maternity leave at first sight seems preferable, but it makes it harder to settle back into the job afterwards. If new mothers are off for only a few months their skills will still be fresh when they return, and their employers find it easier to arrange temporary cover. Germany used to encourage women to stay home for up to three years after having a baby, but in 2007 the government changed the incentives because women were becoming disconnected from the labour market. Data on return rates are scarce, but in some European countries at least a quarter of the women go back to work when their maternity leave runs out, and in Anglophone countries about half of women are back on their child’s first birthday. Inform the others in your group about your article. In class talk about the highlighted expressions in your article. Compare and correct the lists. Then, make them available to your classmates using your school’s learning platform or web tools like quizlet.com. Media task. Go online and find out about equity and equality at work in Austria. Try to find information about: ■■ employment statistics considering the gender gap. ■■ distribution of women among different areas of employment. ■■ company policies concerning female employees, diversity and LGBTQ rights. ■■ inequality of pay (regional differences). Work in pairs and prepare 5 Power Point slides to present your findings in class. Compare and discuss your results. To celebrate Women’s Day on 8 March, your school has decided to publish the best article written on the topic. You are taking part in the competition. Use the information you found out in 9–12. In your article, you: ■■ compare the employment situation of women in Austria with that in other countries. ■■ explain company initiatives to close the gender gap. ■■ speculate about future developments. Write around 350 words. 1 Writing guide: Article, p. 191. Speaking 11 a b 12 a b Writing 13 52 Language skills Extras Explore 4 Work, work, work Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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