Employment rates react to changes in tax rates, in leave policies, but the rising provision of childcare formal services to working parents with children not yet three years old is a main policy driver of female labour force participation. Different policy instruments interact with each other to improve overall effectiveness. In particular, the coverage of childcare services is found to have a greater effect on women’s participation in the labour market in countries with relatively high degrees of employment protection. The effect of childcare services on female full-time employment is particularly strong in Anglophone and Nordic countries.