Czechia keeps mothers of preschoolers out of paid work more than any other EU country. The government answers with a higher parental allowance
Fathers of children under six are in paid work more often in Czechia than anywhere else in the European Union; mothers, together with those in Romania, least often. The 46-percentage-point gap is unmatched in the EU. Mothers do want to work: once their child starts school, Czech women are employed more often than anywhere else in Europe. At a round table in the Chamber of Deputies, experts agreed that what keeps them out of the labour market is a lack of nurseries, a lack of part-time jobs and fathers who do not take parental leave. From January 2027, the government is raising the parental allowance to CZK 400,000.
9/23/2026
