This study investigates how an increase in subsidized early childhood care influences maternal participation in the labor market. It extends existing research by considering not only employment rates but also changes in both agreed-upon working hours and preferred working hours. Using semi-parametric difference-in-differences (DiD) techniques applied to German Microcensus survey data, the analysis finds positive impacts on employment as well as on agreed and preferred working hours, reaching up to 20% of the pre-reform mean. Since agreed and preferred hours tend to adjust together, expanding early childhood care can unlock labor potential beyond that of mothers who are currently underemployed. Conditional analyses indicate that the reform particularly affects mothers with higher education and those who are not single.
