Childcare and Higher Education
The 1970s marked the start of the process of de-emphasizing women's reproductive role. Among other factors, the growing availability of means of birth control allowed women to seek new roles and responsibilities, thus putting an end to the myth of motherhood as "the ultimate lifelong profession." [3] The establishment of childcare support services also gave women "the time and opportunity to continue their education, to work and to establish careers." [4]
Higher education is one of the sectors where childcare has become crucial because many women in the field still view family and career as an "either/ or proposition." [5] Institutions of higher learning, now more aware of this issue, have created more and more on-campus facilities. These efforts reflect both the pressures felt by women and these institutions' desire to increase the number of women in their ranks. [6]
The nation's desire for campus childcare can be traced back to the 1970s. It appeared in correlation with the concurrent feminist movement. At the time, divorce rates were higher and women were going back to college. In 1985, campuses welcomed a growing number of students aged twenty-five and over, who represented a population likely to have children. Among them were women who remained the primary caretakers of children, explaining in part the need for childcare. [7]
Concordia College was one of these campuses. A class research project led by the Home Economics department in 1987 paved the ground for on-campus daycare to become one of the school's major concerns. The study showed that a fair number of students, faculty members, administrators, and support staff felt the need for such a facility, leading to the creation of a Child Care Feasibility Study Committee during the same year. [8]
However, the establishment of on-campus childcare met uneven results nationally as not every institution made childcare its priority. It also encountered obstacles such as inadequate government and college funds, the difficulty to find space for the facilities, and the reluctance of university administrators.