Converging mothers’ employment trajectories between East and West Germany? A focus on the 2008-childcare-reform

Abstract

Looking at a period of childcare expansion, we investigate East-West differences in employment trajectories around first childbirth in Germany over time to identify potential convergence. During Germany’s division (1945-1990), universal public childcare and female full-time employment were the norm in East Germany, while the male breadwinner model was dominant in the West. Even several years after reunification, East-West differences in women’s labor force behavior persist, although they are declining. In 2008, a widespread reform targeted the expansion of childcare availability to facilitate mother’s employment. We use sequence analysis methods to investigate East-West differences in mother’s employment trajectories around childbirth, comparing pre- (1990-2007) and post-reform (2008-2021) years. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1990-2021), the analysis comprises 355 East and 976 West German first-time mothers. Before the reform, employment trajectories between East and West German mothers differed in terms of timing and duration of employment states. After the reform, these differences decreased. Further analysis shows a convergence in the prevalence of post-birth part-time employment, nonetheless longer maternity leave is still more prevalent for West German and full-time employment for East German mothers. Employment trajectories of East and West German mothers have converged over the years. While childcare expansion might be contributing to this development, we still observe important East-West differences, especially regarding post-birth full-time employment.