Does Age Matter? How Preschool- and School-aged Children Affect Women’s Employment

• In Event: 381 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 14. Work-Family and Children: Session II

Abstract

Recent research has hinted that women with children may be more likely to opt out of the labor force or scale back when children are older. With more scheduled activities, homework, and pressures for “intensive parenting,” women with older children may feel different types of conflicting demands from work and family than mothers of infants. While the demands for physical care are high for infants, older children present increased social and emotional needs. This study examines whether mothers of older children are less likely to be employed, and if employed, whether they work fewer hours than mothers of young children. Numerous studies identify age of children, age of mother, and occupation as being particularly important to mothers’ labor supply. I examine each of these elements to evaluate whether older children are associated with reduced labor force participation, and if it makes a difference whether women are younger or older mothers or employed in managerial and professional occupations. Using data from the 2013 American Community Survey, I find that mothers of school-age children are more likely to be employed, but they scale back a larger number of hours than mothers of preschoolers. Though older mothers are more likely to be employed and work longer hours than younger mothers in all occupation groups, older mothers are particularly likely to scale back on work hours when compared with non-mothers if they work in managerial and professional occupations.

Author

• Liana Christin Landivar, National Science Foundation