In both countries, social care in the private and in public sphere is still a predominantly female activity. However, the definition of social care for children and the elderly as paid work is connected to country-specific differences in labour market participation rates of women. In both countries, the high employment rate of women with tertiary educational certificates, especially for university graduates, is closely linked to a corresponding growth in high-level jobs in specific areas of the labour market, e.g. education or health care. In Sweden, however, in contrast to Germany, the expansion of public provision of child care and care for the elderly creates even higher employment possibilities for middle or low qualified women (see Theobald 1999, Theobald & Maier 2002).