Work-Family Policies and Working Hours’ Differences Within Couples After Childbirth

• In Event: 2260 - The Labor Process and Gender Inequality: Job Training and HR Policies at Work

Abstract

How does the birth of children affect different-sex couples’ division of paid work, and how does this vary across countries and with different family policies? This paper analyses data from the EU-SILC from the years 2004 to 2016 combined with policy information on parental leave and the provision of publicly funded childcare. In addition to country-specific regression analyses, we combine fixed-effects regressions with a multilevel modeling approach to examine the relationship between the birth of a child and the female partner’s contribution to the couples’ total working hours across 30 countries. Preliminary findings show that there is considerable cross-national variation in the impact of an (additional) child on women’s share of couples’ total work hours. Moreover, our analyses suggest that couples’ division of paid work is more equitable in countries with greater availability of formal childcare and longer parental leave with wage-related benefits. In particular, the “coherence” between parental leave and childcare service availability helps parents to share paid work more equally.

Authors

• Irene Boeckmann, University of Toronto

• Mareike Bünning, WZB Berlin Social Science Center

• Lena Hipp, WZB Berlin Social Research Center