Beyond Voluntary and Involuntary The Gendered Life Course and Stratification of Part-Time Work in America

• In Event: Sociology of Sex and Gender Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 8. Gendered Work Trajectories and Labor Market Inequality

Abstract

Sociological research has long explored the connections between sex and occupation. More recent literature explores the nature of part-time work as it relates to sex. Although there is an increase in research on part-time work, there exists a paucity of information on the reasons why individuals claim they engage in part-time work. This paper expands such literature exploring the reasons respondents give for their part-time work status. Using a cross-sectional dataset from the 2019 Current Population Survey this paper employs a multinomial logistic regression analyzing 11,924 respondents stated reasons for engaging in part-time work. Findings show that, when compared to economic reasons, family reasons are the most important for sex differences, with women showing higher rates of part-time work due to familial issues compared to men. The results confirm past research showing sex differences in part-time work are strongly related to familial reasons but also show that there exists variation in how sex relates to other reasons respondents give for engaging in part-time work. Comments conclude on future research directions for part-time research as it relates to sex differences.

Author

• Salonee Seecharan, University of Notre Dame