In this article, we link an analysis of female employment in the OECD with a reflection on the role of the welfare state regarding the provision of care. First, we reveal a picture of multi-speed labour market participation, with highly skilled women approaching male employment rates irrespective of the type of welfare state and low-skilled women lagging considerably behind, especially in the conservative welfare states. We also show that the gaps between the sexes, educational groups and countries grow even wider among women with children. Consequently, dual earnership is far from generalized in the OECD and differences in poverty rates may be explained by (among other factors) the uneven participation in paid labour of women. To counteract this phenomenon, we therefore plea for a welfare state reform towards the inclusion of care. This will ease the entry to paid employment for mothers and low-skilled women, and thus act as a poverty reduction strategy. A combination of several policy measures is suggested.
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