Concomitant growth in the public sector provided an important source of employment for women. P re-school daycare is a subjective right in Finland which was fully realised in 1996. The task of municipalities is to arrange care either in day-care centres or in the home for all who need it. Families pay an earnings-related fee. W age labour is an either-or phenomenon in Finland.
Finnish women experience even part-time work as partial dependency on men.
O n the other hand the Finnish practice has been to support homecare of smaller children. Although these privileges extend to fathers as well, only a small minority of fathers use the opportunity for taking parenting or childcare leave. Fathers have been taking advantage of it in increasing numbers. F inland currently has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe. It affects both men and women, though not quite to the same degree.