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Jessen, Jonas (2022): Culture, Children and Couple Gender Inequality. In: European Economic Review, Jg. 150. DOI:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2022.104310

Abstract

"This paper examines how culture impacts within-couple gender inequality. Exploiting the setting of Germany's division and reunification, I compare child penalties of East Germans who were socialised in a more gender egalitarian culture to West Germans socialised in a gender-traditional culture. Using a household panel, I show that the long-run child penalty on the female income share is 23.9 percentage points for West German couples, compared to 12.9 for East German couples. The arrival of children also leads to a greater increase in the female share of housework and child care for West Germans. I add to the main findings by using time-use diary data from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and reunified Germany, which provides a rare insight into gender inequality in the GDR and allows me to compare the effect of having children in the GDR to the effects in East and West Germany after reunification. Lastly, I show that attitudes towards maternal employment are more egalitarian among East Germans, but that the arrival of children leads to more traditional attitudes for both East and West Germans. The findings confirm that socialisation has a strong impact on child penalties and that family policies may have an impact on gender inequality through social learning in the long run." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2022 Elsevier) ((en))

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Kelle, Nadiya, Laura Romeu Gordo & Julia Simonson (2022): Kind – und dann? Wandel partnerschaftlicher Erwerbsverläufe drei Jahre nach dem Übergang in die Elternschaft. In: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Jg. 74, H. 3, S. 329-351. DOI:10.1007/s11577-022-00860-5

Abstract

"Der Übergang in die Elternschaft markiert für viele Elternpaare den Übergang in geschlechterspezifische Erwerbsarrangements, oft unabhängig von der gelebten vorgeburtlichen Arbeitsteilung. Dabei können die Entscheidungen über die Erwerbsarrangements nach der Geburt des ersten Kindes richtungsgebend für die zukünftigen Erwerbsverläufe und Alterssicherung sein. Vor diesem Hintergrund fokussiert der Beitrag auf zwei Fragen: erstens, ob sich gerade für jüngere Elternpaare der in den 1980er-Jahren Geborenen eine Konvergenz in den Erwerbsverläufen nach dem Übergang in die Elternschaft im Vergleich zu den in den 1970er-Jahren geborenen Elternpaaren zeigt und zweitens, ob die Arbeitsteilung vor dem Übergang in die Elternschaft eine zunehmende Rolle für die Erwerbskonstellationen danach spielt. Unter Verwendung der Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) werden anhand sequenz-, cluster- und regressionsanalytischer Verfahren Erwerbsverläufe von 900 Paaren über 36 Monate nach dem Übergang in die Elternschaft analysiert. Für die Kohorte der in den 1980er-Jahren Geborenen setzt sich die Bedeutungsabnahme traditioneller Erwerbsarrangements fort. Zudem gibt es immer mehr Elternpaare, in denen beide Elternteile relativ schnell nach der Geburt eines Kindes in die Erwerbstätigkeit zurückkehren. Kaum zu beobachten ist, dass Väter ihre Erwerbstätigkeit zunehmend zugunsten einer stärkeren Einbindung in Haushalts- oder Familientätigkeiten einschränken. Hingegen scheinen die Konvergenzen in den Erwerbsverläufen zwischen Müttern und Vätern vielmehr ein Resultat zunehmender Erwerbsdiskontinuitäten zu sein. Darüber hinaus hat die vorgeburtliche Arbeitsteilung auch für die jüngeren Elternpaare einen eher geringen Einfluss auf ihre nachgeburtlichen Erwerbskonstellationen. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass der Abbau von geschlechterspezifischen Ungleichheiten am Arbeitsmarkt verstärkt voranzutreiben ist, damit weitere Anreize für die gleichmäßigere Erwerbsaufteilung im Paarkontext entstehen können." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag)

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Latshaw, Beth A. & Deniz Yucel (2022): Work-family conflict and partners' agreement on fertility preferences among dual-earner couples: Does women's employment status matter? In: Journal of Family Research, Jg. 34, H. 4, S. 1151-1174. DOI:10.20377/jfr-689

Abstract

"Objective: This study tests the effects of work-family conflict, in both directions, on partners' agreement on fertility preferences among dual-earner couples, as well as whether this relationship varies by women's employment status. Background: Few studies have examined the relationship between work-family conflict and fertility preferences. Given the high percentages of women working part-time in Germany, it is important to investigate the role working women’s employment status plays to further understand this relationship. Method: Using data from 716 dual-earner couples in Wave 10 of the German Family Panel (pairfam), we use dyadic data analysis to test whether work-family conflict impacts one’s own ("actor effects") and/or one’s partner’s ("partner effects") reports of agreement on fertility preferences. We also run multi-group analyses to compare whether these effects vary in "full-time dual-earner" versus "modernized male breadwinner" couples. Results: There are significant actor effects for family-to-work conflict in both types of couples, and for work-to-family conflict in modernized male breadwinner couples only. Partner effects for family-to-work conflict exist only among modernized male breadwinner couples. While there are no gender differences in actor or partner effects, results suggest differences in the partner effect (for family-to-work conflict only) between these two couple types. Conclusion: These findings indicate that work-family conflict is associated with greater partner disagreement on fertility preferences and highlight the differential impact incompatible work and family responsibilities have on fertility decisions when women work full-time versus part-time." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Law, Helen & Pia Schober (2022): Gendered occupational aspirations among German youth: Role of parental occupations, gender division of labour, and family structure. In: Journal of Family Research, Jg. 34, H. 2, S. 643-668. DOI:10.20377/jfr-603

Abstract

"Objective: This study investigates how multiple domains of parental gender role socialisation as well as parent-child relationships and family structure may shape adolescents’ gendered occupational aspirations. Background: Young people with gender-typical aspirations have a higher chance of choosing gender-typical post-secondary education fields and are more likely to work in gender-typical occupations as adults. Gender norms, family structures and parent-child relationships have undergone profound changes in recent decades. We extend the intergenerational transmission literature by considering whether the influence of parental role modelling may vary according to parent-child relationships and family structure. Method: We draw on data from 2,235 adolescents from the German Socio-Economic Panel and apply logistic regressions. Results: Children whose fathers were employed in gender-typical jobs had a greater likelihood of aspiring to a more gender-typical occupation. This relationship was not significant among sons who did not live continuously with both parents since birth, who were generally more likely to aspire to gender-typical occupations. Surprisingly, the gender-typicality of fathers' occupations seemed more influential among daughters whose parents had separated than among those who lived continuously with both parents. Regarding the parental gender division of paid and unpaid work, only mothers' continuous non-employment was associated with daughters being more likely to aspire to a gender-typical occupation. Conclusion: On the whole, our findings suggest a rather weak influence of parental gender role modelling on children’s persistently gendered occupational aspirations in Germany. Yet, our study extends existing family research by pointing to significant variations across family structures." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitatform

Raute, Anna, Andrea Weber & Galina Zudenkova (2022): Can public policy increase paternity acknowledgement? Evidence from earnings-related parental leave. (Working paper series / School of Economics and Finance (London) 937), London, 47 S.

Abstract

"A child's family structure is a fundamental determinant of future well-being, making it essential to understand how public policies affect the involvement of fathers. In this paper, we exploit a reform of the German parental leave system which increased mother's income and reduced legal father's financial support burden to measure the impact on the relationship contract choices of parents who were unmarried at conception. Based on detailed birth record data, we demonstrate that short-run reform incentives during the first period after birth nudge unmarried fathers into the long-term commitment of acknowledging paternity. This shift reduces single motherhood by 6% but leaves the share of marriages at birth constant. Moreover, the change in relationship contract choices is mostly driven by parents of boys. These findings are compatible with predictions from a model where parents choose between three types of relationship contracts based on the mother's and father's incomes and support obligations. Our results highlight the necessity of studying intermediate relationship contracts (i.e., between the extremes of marriage and single motherhood) to improve our understanding of potential risk groups among the rising number of children growing up outside of marriage." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Reich, Ricarda (2022): Abseits der Norm? Egalitäre Teilzeitarrangements während des Elterngeldbezuges. Ausgestaltung und Motivlagen. In: Berliner Journal für Soziologie, Jg. 32, H. 4, S. 563-597. DOI:10.1007/s11609-022-00468-8

Abstract

"Mit der Einführung von Elterngeld Plus und Partnerschaftsbonus 2015 wird die Umsetzung egalitärer Teilzeitarrangements erstmals institutionell gestützt. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit sich Eltern in Deutschland für ein solches Erwerbsarrangement im Rahmen der Elterngeldnutzung entscheiden, auf welche Weise die neuen Elterngeldkomponenten genutzt werden und wie die Erwerbs- und Elterngeldentscheidungen auf der Individual- und Paarebene begründet werden. Empirische Grundlage sind semi-strukturierte Interviews mit 18 Personen aus zehn gemischtgeschlechtlichen Paaren, die sich für eine parallele Teilzeitphase während des Elterngeldbezuges entschieden haben. Es zeigt sich, dass die paarinterne Aufteilung des Elterngeldanspruchs überwiegend geschlechts(stereo)typisch erfolgt und parallele Teilzeitphasen zumeist von kurzer Dauer sind. Die Begründungen für eine egalitäre Teilzeitphase sind vielfältig und variieren mit deren Dauer: Kurze egalitäre Teilzeitepisoden dienen primär der Bewältigung verschiedener Übergangsphasen. Die Entscheidung für ein egalitäres Teilzeitarrangement von langer Dauer beruht hingegen auf egalitären Werthaltungen oder beruflichen Zwängen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag)

Zitatform

Reimann, Mareike & Martin Diewald (2022): Good mental health despite work-family conflict? The within-domain and cross-domain buffering potentials of family and work resources. In: Journal of Family Research, Jg. 34, H. 4, S. 1126-1150. DOI:10.20377/jfr-726

Abstract

"Objective: This article investigates whether within-domain and cross-domain buffering by family and work resources can help mitigate the negative mental health effects of work-to-family conflicts (WFC) and family-to-work conflicts (FWC). Background: Most literature on the work–life interface stresses the need to maintain employees’ health and well-being by preventing the emergence of work–family conflicts. Since such conflicts tend to be an unavoidable concomitant of role expansion, we aim to put forward the debate on the conditions that might prevent their negative health consequences instead. Method: Fixed-effects linear regression analyses were applied to a sample of 4,920 employees in a three-wave employer–employee panel study in Germany. Using interaction analyses, we tested within-domain and cross-domain buffering of family (social support and relative bargaining power within partnerships) and work (job resources, support from direct supervisors or co-workers, formal and informal organizational support) resources in the relationship between strain-based and time-based WFC and FWC and mental health (SF-12). Results: Family resources and work resources somewhat mitigated the health risks of WFC and FWC. Overall, within-domain resources were more effective than cross-domain ones. Conclusion: It is important to consider resources in both the family and the work domains to determine the most effective ways of preventing the negative mental health consequences of work–family conflicts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Samtleben, Claire & Kai-Uwe Müller (2022): Care and careers: Gender (in)equality in unpaid care, housework and employment. In: Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Jg. 77. DOI:10.1016/j.rssm.2021.100659

Abstract

"This article examines whether reducing care and housework duties and redistributing them within different-sex couples could further enhance gender equality on the labor market in terms of labor market participation for different employment types and actual working hours. Women around the world perform the majority of unpaid care and housework, with a large and persistent gap to men. Most research explains the unequal gender division of domestic chores, but less frequently their consequences for employment outcomes and career outlooks. Based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (2001–2017 N = 40,419 for employment probabilities / N = 30,795 for working hours) matched with regional data on external child- and elderly care, the authors use an instrumental variables approach and eliminate time-constant individual effects in first-differenced regressions to address endogeneity issues and to disentangle the reciprocal relationship. Results show that both the overall amount as well as the unequal division of housework and care in couple households have detrimental effects on women's labor market participation and actual working hours. Reducing the overall burden from housework and care duties and achieving a more symmetric within-couple distribution improves female integration into the labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2022 Elsevier) ((en))

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Vaalavuo, Maria, Henri Salokangas & Ossi Tahvonen (2022): Gender inequality reinforced. The impact of a child's health shock on parents' labor market trajectories. (INVEST working papers 2022,51), Helsinki, 46 S. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/wx83z

Abstract

"This article employs a couple-level framework to examine how a child’s severe illness affects within-family gender inequality in a Northern European context. We study the parental labor market responses to a child’s cancer diagnosis by exploiting an event study methodology and individual-level administrative data on hospitalizations and labor market variables for the total population in Finland. We focus on the differences in the effects by gender, breadwinner status, cancer severity and age of children. We find that child cancer has a negative impact on the labor income of both the mother and the father. This effect is considerably larger for women, and therefore leads to an increase in gender inequality on top of the well-documented motherhood penalty related to childbirth. However, mothers who are the main breadwinners in the family experience a smaller reduction in their contribution to household income. Additionally, older age of the child at cancer diagnosis and less severe cancer type potentially protect against gendered responses. These new insights provide evidence on gender roles when a child falls ill and show how child health affects gender inequality in two-parent households." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Weiland, Andreas (2022): Married Mothers' Bargaining Power and Their Accrual of Pension Entitlements: Evidence From East and West Germany. In: Work, Aging and Retirement, Jg. 8, H. 3, S. 241-263. DOI:10.1093/workar/waab009

Abstract

"This study investigates how married mothers’ relative bargaining power before the birth of their first child affects their subsequent accumulation of pension entitlements in East versus West Germany. I use a novel data linkage between the German sample of the “Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe” and administrative records from the German pension insurance (SHARE-RV) to analyze monthly life-course data on married mothers from East (N = 226) and West Germany (N = 586) who were born between 1925 and 1967. Applying random effects growth curve models and mediation analyses, I find that women’s relative bargaining power before parenthood is linked to their subsequent accumulation of pension entitlements in West (but not East) Germany. The results support the notion that bargaining power early in couples’ linked lives has long-term consequences for women’s pension income. Moreover, the results indicate that negotiations within the couple are constricted by the extent to which the institutional context supports or hinders the reconciliation of women’s work–family conflict." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Abstract

"Unpaid care duties are key to gender gaps in the labor market. As illustrated in the report, across the Member States, care responsibilities are equally shared between women and men only in about one-third of families. The interplay between labour market and household conditions may create vicious cycles. The unequal division of unpaid care work between men and women reduces women’s access to and permanency in the labor market, and leads to a concentration of women in sectors and jobs allowing greater working time flexibility at the price of lower wages and career opportunities. Gender gaps in the labor market themselves reinforce the unequal division of unpaid care work in households. Work-life balance policies are therefore key for supporting women’s labor market participation and employment and achieving gender equality in the labour market. Although cultural and social norms on the gender division of unpaid work in the household are still relevant, the availability, affordability and quality of childcare and long-term care services, eligibility criteria, length and compensation level of parental, paternity and carers leaves, and flexible working arrangements all play an important role in promoting equal sharing of care tasks in the household enabling full and equal labor market participation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Briedis, Kolja, Gesche Brandt & Ulrike Schwabe (2021): Promovieren im Spannungsfeld zwischen wissenschaftlicher Qualifizierung und Elternschaft. Aktuelle Ergebnisse der National Academics Panel Study. (DZHW-Brief 2021,04), Hannover, 12 S. DOI:10.34878/2021.04.dzhw_brief

Abstract

"Von den in Nacaps befragten Promovierenden haben 17 Prozent Kinder. Dieser Anteil ist bei weiblichen und männlichen Promovierenden gleich hoch. Unter Promovierenden in strukturierten Promotionsprogrammen ist der Anteil geringer (11 Prozent). Knapp drei Viertel der kinderlosen Promovierenden wünschen sich Kinder zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt, etwa ein Fünftel ist in dieser Frage noch unentschlossen und eine kleine Gruppe spricht sich zum Befragungszeitpunkt dezidiert gegen eigene Kinder aus. Kinderlose Promovierende sehen die größten Schwierigkeiten bei der Familienplanung in der beruflichen Unsicherheit sowie in der als schwierig wahrgenommenen Vereinbarkeit von Berufs- und Privatleben. Promovierende mit Kind geben eine mittlere Zufriedenheit mit der Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf an. Auf einer Skala mit insgesamt elf Stufen liegt der mittlere Wert der Zufriedenheit bei einem Wert von 6,1. Promovierende Väter geben mit einem durchschnittlichen Skalenwert von 6,3 eine höhere Zufriedenheit an als promovierende Mütter (5,8). Die Zufriedenheit mit der Vereinbarkeit steht in einem positiven Zusammenhang mit der Stabilität der Promotionsbetreuung, der emotionalen Unterstützung in der Promotionsphase sowie der Unterstützung bei der allgemeinen Karriereplanung." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

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Krämer, Michael D. & Joseph L. Rodgers (2020): The Impact of Having Children on Domain-Specific Life Satisfaction:. A Quasi-Experimental Longitudinal Investigation Using the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) Data. (SOEPpapers on multidisciplinary panel data research at DIW Berlin 1068), Berlin, 64 S.

Abstract

"Longitudinal studies have documented improvements in parents' life satisfaction due to childbearing, followed by postpartum adaptation back to baseline. However, the details underlying this process remain largely unexplored. Based on past literature, set-point theory, and results from an exploratory sample, we investigated empirically how first childbirth affected satisfaction with specific domains of life. In a preregistered study, we compared parents with matched childless respondents in their trajectories of life satisfaction, and also satisfaction with family life, health, sleep, work, housework, leisure, dwelling, household income, and personal income. First-time parents and childless respondents were matched in a procedure combining exact and propensity score matching. Using the population-representative German SOEP data (N = 3,370), longitudinal multilevel models revealed heterogeneous effects of childbirth on different domains of satisfaction: Both mothers' and fathers' satisfaction with family life increased temporarily in a similar fashion to life satisfaction before going back to baseline within five years after childbirth. However, only mothers experienced drastic losses to satisfaction with sleep and satisfaction with personal income. For the remaining domains, parents' satisfaction largely resembled that of the matched childless respondents. These divergent domain trajectories underscore the need for multivariate analyses in life satisfaction research." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

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Bick, Alexander, Bettina Brüggemann, Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln & Hannah Paule-Paludkiewicz (2019): Long-term changes in married couples' labor supply and taxes: Evidence from the US and Europe since the 1980s. In: Journal of International Economics, Jg. 118, H. May, S. 44-62. DOI:10.1016/j.jinteco.2019.01.014

Abstract

"We document the time-series of employment rates and hours worked per employed by married couples in the US and seven European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the UK) from the early 1980s through 2016. Relying on a model of joint household labor supply decisions, we quantitatively analyze the role of non-linear labor income taxes for explaining the evolution of hours worked of married couples over time, using as inputs the full country- and year-specific statutory labor income tax codes. We further evaluate the role of consumption taxes, gender and educational wage premia, and the educational composition. The model is quite successful in replicating the time series behavior of hours worked per employed married woman, with labor income taxes being the key driving force. It does however capture only part of the secular increase in married women's employment rates in the 1980s and early 1990s, suggesting an important role for factors not considered in this paper. An independent and important contribution of the paper is that we make the non-linear tax codes used as an input into the analysis available as a user-friendly and easily integrable set of Matlab codes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2023 Elsevier) ((en))

Zitatform

Figari, Francesco & Edlira Narazani (2017): The joint decision of female labour supply and childcare in Italy under costs and availability constraints. (EUROMOD working paper 2017,12), Colchester, 32 S.

Abstract

"It is widely recognized that childcare has important pedagogical, economic and social effects on both children and parents. This paper is the first attempt to estimate a joint structural model of female labour supply and childcare behaviour applied to Italy in order to analyse the effects of relaxing the existing constraints in terms of childcare availability and costs by considering public, private and informal childcare. Results suggest that Italian households might alter their childcare and labour supply behaviours substantially if the coverage rate of formal childcare increases to reach the European targets. Overall, increasing child care coverage is estimated to be more effective in enhancing labour incentives than decreasing existing child care costs, at the same budgetary cost." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))