Diverging Patterns in Women’s Reconciliation Behavior across Family Policies and Educational Groups

Brehm, Uta

doi:10.1093/sp/jxy043

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Specifically, in 1992, a 3-year parental leave ( Erziehungsurlaub ) with a 2-year fixed allowance ( Erziehungsgeld ) set a norm of a prolonged sheltered caregiving episode. This norm contributed to increasingly homogenous reconciliation behaviours among West German mothers, especially among the less educated (Brehm, 2020). In turn, the already relatively homogeneous, employment-oriented reconciliation patterns of East German mothers experienced a shift towards a longer episode of non-employment after childbirth (Falk and Schaeper, 2001).…”

Section: Theoretical Background and Working Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We add to research by studying mothers’ transitions after the birth of the last child. This allows us to understand their durable reconciliation patterns, leaving episodes between childbirths behind, because bridging behaviours in anticipation of subsequent births can bias or even thwart maternal employment (Brehm, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, mothers in part-time employment often face labour market penalties (Stier et al, 2001), often of lasting severity because many mothers retain their working hours permanently (Brehm, 2020). Specifically, part-time work has amplified vertical gender segregation (Blau and Kahn, 2013) and the statistical discrimination of women in the workforce (Dieckhoff et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is part-time employment a temporary ‘stepping stone’ or a lasting ‘mommy track’? Legislation and mothers’ transition to full-time employment in Germany

Brehm,

Milewski

2024

Journal of European Social Policy

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Research on reconciling family and employment debates if maternal part-time employment works as ‘stepping stone’ to full-time employment or as gateway to a long-term ‘mommy track’. We analyse how mothers’ transition from part-time to full-time employment is shaped by changing reconciliation legislations and how this is moderated by reconciliation-relevant factors like individual behaviours and macro conditions. We extend the literature on work–family reconciliation by investigating mothers’ employment behaviour after the birth of their last child, i.e., after the family formative phase. We draw upon Germany with its considerable regional and historical heterogeneity. Using event history methods on SOEP-data, we observe mothers who (re)enter part-time employment (i.e., up to 30 weekly working hours) after their last childbirth. Results suggest that the impact of reconciliation legislations depends on the moderation by other factors. Recent reconciliation-friendly legislations may have contributed to the polarization of maternal employment patterns: more and less employment-oriented mothers diverge sooner after childbirth than before. Legislations co-occur with increases both in childcare institutions and part-time culture, but their moderation effects compete. Hence, boosting part-time work as either a ‘stepping stone’ or a ‘mommy track’ requires a deep understanding of the mechanisms behind legislations as well as more explicit policy incentives.

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Section: Theoretical Background and Working Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is part-time employment a temporary ‘stepping stone’ or a lasting ‘mommy track’? Legislation and mothers’ transition to full-time employment in Germany

Brehm,

Milewski

2024

Journal of European Social Policy

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“…First, the reforms contained significant labour market activating mechanisms. The shortening of parental leave entitlements resulted in shorter work interruptions and quicker succession of births for college‐educated mothers, a smaller decline in skills and earnings normally associated with motherhood, and increased levels of orientation towards the workforce (Brehm, 2020; Drasch, 2013; Gangl & Ziefle, 2015; Morgan & Zippel, 2003). Second, the new earnings‐related structure of the parental leave benefit helped higher earning mothers by providing more continuous income in the year following childbirth, as compared to the older, poorly paid flat‐rate benefit.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Constrained ‘choices’: Optional familism and educational divides in work‐family arrangements

Jozwiak

2023

Soc Policy Adm

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German family policy was dramatically reformed in the 2000s because of dual reforms to parental leave and childcare provision. While considerable evidence has suggested the reforms affected employment and other outcomes, this article asks what the consequences of these reforms are for the family, specifically for patterns of work‐family arrangements. Moreover, it asks how education matters for work‐family arrangements post‐reform. Using German Socio‐Economic Panel data, I show that college‐educated mothers giving birth to their first child after the reforms earned roughly half of household income if they benefited from expanded local childcare access. By contrast, in areas with lower childcare availability, even among the college‐educated, mothers' earnings resemble pre‐reform patterns, where mothers earn between a quarter to a third of household income. Therefore, the reforms contributed to greater differences in family structures based on the education. One interpretation of these findings is that the status reproducing nature of the Continental welfare states has recalibrated for the modern age, de‐gendered for those with the greatest labour market returns.

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Diverging Patterns in Women’s Reconciliation Behavior across Family Policies and Educational Groups

Cited by 2 publications

References 40 publications

Is part-time employment a temporary ‘stepping stone’ or a lasting ‘mommy track’? Legislation and mothers’ transition to full-time employment in Germany

Is part-time employment a temporary ‘stepping stone’ or a lasting ‘mommy track’? Legislation and mothers’ transition to full-time employment in Germany

Constrained ‘choices’: Optional familism and educational divides in work‐family arrangements

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