Les modes de garde de l’enfant : des politiques publiques « neutres » à dérive inégalitaire ?

Abstract

By focusing on childcare policies, this article aims to understand why so-called “universal”, “egalitarian” and “women-friendly” measures reproduce and reinforce social inequalities. It then proposes to question the frame of reference of the French reproduction regime, namely the mode of organization of the practices of taking charge of the activities which contribute to the maintenance of human life. To do this, it takes the Early Childhood Benefit as an indicator of its functioning. On the basis of a field survey conducted with socially differentiated families, this article shows that the inegalitarian drift of public policies can be explained by the referential of the reproduction regime, which is based on the socio-sexual division of labor and denies the inegalitarian dimensions of social relations.

Keywords

• reproduction
• regime
• public policies
• inequalities
• families