Interview with Martha Friendly
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Martha Friendly, Executive Director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit at the University of Toronto, discusses her career and involvement in childcare and research advocacy. She tells the story of her early experience relating to child care research and advocacy in the United States before moving to Canada during the Vietnam War in 1971. Martha talks about her involvement in the womens' movement and her role in the development of child care research, activism, and policy in Canada and Internationally. She explains how child care research is impacted by governments, politics, and policies and the connection between reserach and advocacy. Martha also mentions how child care research shows child care impacts society in many different ways. She elaborates on its role in the economy. Martha also discusses how social attitudes and perceptions on child care have shifted over time, including her own understandings and beliefs. She speaks on social reform regarding child care and its origins dating back to World War II and the women's movement.