Poles on family policy. Research report from the Institute of Finance

Do Poles expect family policy support from the state? If so, which model of support is most desirable? What measures in family policy does Polish society consider a priority and how does it assess the current solutions? These questions are answered in the report ‘Poles on family policy’.

The main findings of the report show that Poles widely expect the state to intervene in the care and education services sector – to finance the costs of these services, to run public facilities or to regulate their prices. An increase in the number of public nurseries and kindergartens is the solution most often supported (by 84% of respondents) among the studied potential actions. Additionally, Poles consistently prefer solutions that improve the availability of nurseries and kindergartens to even greater tax reliefs or larger cash transfers. This support is in line with the declared priorities of family policy, among which facilitating the reconciliation of work and family life is most frequently mentioned.

While in agreement on the state’s assistance in providing nurseries and kindergartens, Poles have divided opinions on other issues. The report shows that the opinions of Poles are part of an endorsement of one of three family policy models with a slightly different understanding of the state’s overall activities in supporting families, namely:

– two-working model (we work and public institutions help with childcare);

– traditional model (we take care of the children ourselves and the state provides financial support);

– indirect model (we work and raise children at the same time).

The intermediate model is the most commonly supported (44%). Above all, Poles expect support in terms of combining work and family life (an essential feature common to the two-working model). In contrast to the two-working model (17%), it marginalises the importance of equal pay between men and women, and looks more favourably on policies that favour parents staying at home for the first few years of their children’s lives.

A group distinct from those supporting the intermediate model and the two-working model is the traditionalist group (38%), which sees the fight against child poverty as a priority for family policy, appreciates the importance of financial assistance and, to a relatively lesser extent, considers it a priority to make it easier for both parents to combine work and family life. On the other hand, traditionalists are relatively less supportive of a model in which childcare is mainly provided by nurseries and kindergartens. Nevertheless, this group also appreciates the provision of support in the form of public care facilities.

We invite you to read in detail the report! Publication in Polish