[Inside Chodong] The Olympic Spirit of 2024 and Work-Family Balance

Childcare Facility Debuts at Paris Olympics: The First 'Family Zone' in Olympic History
"No More Career Interruptions Due to Childbirth"
Olympic Message Calls for Work-Family Balance in Everyday Life

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The opening of the '2024 Paris Olympics' is just one day away. It is the Olympics being held again in Paris after 100 years. This Olympics will feature over 10,500 athletes from 206 countries competing in 32 official sports, vying for 329 gold medals. The ages of the participants range widely, from 11-year-old Chinese skateboarding national representative Zheng Haohao to 61-year-old Canadian equestrian national representative Jill Irving. As the global festival approaches, excitement is rising once again.

The Olympics have returned to Paris after a century. Although many things have changed since then, what draws even more attention is the 'Family Zone' located within the Paris Saint-Denis Olympic Village. The Family Zone is the first childcare facility ever operated in the 128-year history of the Olympics. It serves as an 'Olympic Village daycare center' where athletes can leave their children during the Olympic period to fully showcase their skills. Athletes can also spend time with their children here. This childcare facility operates daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until the Paralympics conclude on September 8. The floor is designed like an athletics track lane to create an Olympic atmosphere, and various toys, dolls, and indoor bicycles related to the Olympics are also provided. A dedicated space for breastfeeding has been arranged as well.

The establishment of childcare facilities in the Olympic Village is thanks to the persistent voices of 'mom Olympians' who previously competed in the Games. Emma Terho, former Finnish hockey player and chair of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes' Commission, who competed in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics after giving birth, and American track star Allison Felix, who achieved the feat of competing in five consecutive Olympics including the Tokyo Olympics after becoming a mother, actively advocated for this. They unanimously stated, "No athlete should have to interrupt their career due to the happiest event in life?childbirth." Although not many athletes are currently using the Family Zone before the opening, the symbolic meaning of the Family Zone’s debut at the Olympics sends a powerful message. 'Contributing to the realization of a better world,' the spirit of the 2024 Olympics is also embodied in the daycare center supporting athletes’ work-family balance.

"There should be no career interruptions due to childbirth." This applies not only to the Olympics held every four years but also to everyday life. According to the Korea Development Institute (KDI), the report titled 'Concerns about Women’s Career Interruptions and Declining Fertility Rates' states that concerns about women’s career interruptions account for about 40% of the decline in total fertility rates. Last year’s data showed that if childless women in their 30s who are economically active gave up on childbirth and remained childless, the probability of career interruption could have been reduced by at least 14 percentage points. This points to the difficulty of balancing work and family as a factor leading to delayed or abandoned childbirth.

The scale of employment loss is also enormous. The Korea Employers Federation reported that as of the first half of last year, employment loss due to women’s career interruptions reached 1,349,000 people. The economic loss caused by women’s career interruptions is estimated to be 44 trillion won annually. This also leads to the conclusion that strengthening systems to minimize career interruptions and support work-family balance is essential. Experts emphasize that continuous support such as telecommuting and reduced working hours should be provided so that both parents can balance work and childcare to prevent career interruptions caused by childbirth and parenting.

The government plans to comprehensively review and address overall issues, including concerns about career interruptions due to childbirth, by establishing a population strategy planning department at the vice-premier level and introducing a low birthrate senior secretary in the presidential office. The message is clear. Both the Olympics and policy preparations now face the real test.