Generally, the policies discussed above are to the benefit of single-parent families just as they are for two-parent families. Parental leave, if well-paid, and family benefits were found to reduce poverty more strongly among single parents than among two-parent families.78 Paid parental leave and childcare may help single parents to negotiate their work-family conflicts but may also improve their economic outcomes through a life-course perspective: If paid leave and childcare ensure that women remain economically active and independent when becoming mothers (including in partnerships), they will have more and better opportunities for employment if they become single parents later in their lives. Bradshaw and Finch 2002,Gornick and Jantti 2012.