In some countries there has been considerable effort by governments to implement ‘family-friendly’ policies, which support people in paid employment in reconciling the demands of workforce participation with family life. Such policies include the provision of affordable child care, paid parental and family leave entitlements and the regulation of working time. In other countries governments have adopted a more laissez-faire attitude to the reconciliation of work and family life, relying upon the private sector to provide child care at costs dictated by market forces and providing fewer (or less meaningful) entitlements for working parents or others with caring responsibilities.