The reality is that many women are in the labour market but do not have access to formal childcare services. It is often a neighbour, an aunt or an uncle who offers the service.
I can speak of my own personal experience when I was in school. There were hardly any spaces for infants. Five different people came to mind my baby in my home, because something always came up: they would find a better job or they would hurt their back, etc. All of these problems made the situation very difficult.
Both things must go hand in hand. Both are necessary. There must be pay equity in order for jobs to pay women enough in order for them to have true financial independence. Child care services that truly fill the needs of parents and allow them to participate in the labour market without constantly worrying about what might be happening with their children are also necessary.
Employers under-estimate the cost of pay inequity. In areas such as daycare services or social services, where visiting homemakers offer in-home services to the elderly, for example, there is quite a high turnover rate. There are frequent staff changes when salaries are not high enough. If employers were to think a little bit more about the costs involved in constantly training new staff...
There also must be government involvement in order for high enough wages to be offered in certain sectors and services, such as childcare.