Most mothers do not work full-time anyway (though the proportion who do is growing), and their part-time jobs are ill-rewarded.

ECONOMIST: Who looks after the children?

If base wage levels for workers cannot go up, says Yoji Tatsui, a director in the labour-policy co-ordination division at the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, then companies should at least try to bring pay for part-timers who do similar jobs closer to that of their full-time counterparts.

ECONOMIST: Deflation is transforming Japan's annual pay rituals

So why do journalists go on about an epidemic of part-time jobs?

ECONOMIST: No part-time job explosion

My wife and I are expecting a baby in the near future and we have been looking at getting part-time jobs outside of what we do right now.

BBC: US & Canada

Part of it has to do with the fact that women are more likely than men to do part-time work or to work in a small business -- in jobs that are less likely to offer the kind of insurance that you really need.

WHITEHOUSE: The First Lady on Health Insurance Reform and Older Women

Column three is for tracking the things you need to do to achieve your goals taking classes, getting internships or part-time jobs, for example.

FORBES: Connect