Intergenerational Care Support and Married Women's Employment in Korea and Taiwan

• In Event: 533 - Section on Asia and Asian America Paper Session. The Work of Sex and Gender: Asia and Asian America

Abstract

This study is to explain different aspects of women’s employment rates of Korea and Taiwan by their intergenerational care support from family/kin. Women’s employment rates of Korea and Taiwan are similar in their total average rates, but detailed aspects of women’s economic participation are clearly different. While Korean women’s employment rates by age show M-curve which indicates frequent career disruption of married women, Taiwanese women’s employment rates by age do not have M-curve but continually decreases from a high point. How can we explain these differences? Jung and his colleagues (2012) suggested interesting hypotheses focusing on different family/kinship structures of Korea and Taiwan to explain those differences. Previous studies reported that Taiwanese show high rates of three-generational co-residence, and if Taiwanese working mother could receive more care support from their co-residing parents or parents-in-law than Korean working mother, it would probably reduce care burden of working mother and enhance possibility of married women’s economic participation. Thus, this research is to empirically test the hypotheses raised by Jung and his colleagues (2012). Data for this study are drawn from East Asian Social Survey 2006 family module. This study uses samples of Korean (n = 436) and Taiwanese (n = 381) married women at age 20-50. Results of binary logistic regression are followed. The effects of receiving intergenerational care support is statistically significant in Taiwan model only, which imply different curve of women’s employment rates by age can be explained by different effect of intergenerational care support in Korea and Taiwan.

Author

• Jina Lee, Yonsei University