Berufsrückkehrende – Wiedereinstieg in den Arbeitsmarkt
Die meisten Mütter und Väter wollen Erwerbs- und Familienarbeit vereinbaren. Stellt sich Nachwuchs ein, wird insbesondere von Frauen die Erwerbsarbeit zugunsten der Familie unterbrochen. Immer häufiger nehmen auch Männer Elternzeit in Anspruch. Wie gelingt der Wiedereinstieg von Eltern in den Beruf? Welche familienbewussten Maßnahmen greifen?
Die Infoplattform bietet Literatur zu arbeitsmarkt- und sozialpolitischen Erfolgsfaktoren und Handlungsbedarfen der beruflichen Reintegration.
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Literaturhinweis
Betriebliche Angebote zur Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf: Mütter kehren schneller zu familienfreundlichen Arbeitgebern zurück (2018)
Zitatform
Frodermann, Corinna, Ann-Christin Bächmann, Marina Hagen, Daniela Grunow & Dana Müller (2018): Betriebliche Angebote zur Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf: Mütter kehren schneller zu familienfreundlichen Arbeitgebern zurück. (IAB-Kurzbericht 18/2018), Nürnberg, 7 S.
Abstract
"Betriebe in Deutschland bieten immer häufiger Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung der Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf an. Große Betriebe sind hier Vorreiter, aber die kleinen und mittleren Betriebe ziehen nach. Das zeigen IAB-Analysen auf Basis von Linked-Employer-Employee-Daten. Deutlich wird außerdem, dass das Angebot familienfreundlicher Maßnahmen mit kürzeren familienbedingten Erwerbsunterbrechungsdauern bei Müttern einhergeht." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
Weiterführende Informationen
- Anteil der Betriebe mit familienfreundlichen Maßnahmen nach Frauenanteil in der Belegschaft
- Erwerbsrückkehranteile von Müttern in Betrieben mit und ohne familienfreundliche Maßnahmen nach Anzahl der angebotenen Maßnahmen
- Anteil der Betriebe mit familienfreundlichen Maßnahmen nach Betriebsgröße
- Erwerbsrückkehranteile von Müttern in Betrieben mit (mindestens einer) und ohne familienfreundliche Maßnahmen
- Anteil der Betriebe mit familienfreundlichen Maßnahmen
- Geschätzte Dauer in Monaten bis zur Erwerbsrückkehr von Müttern nach der Geburt des ersten Kindes
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Literaturhinweis
Workplace variation in fatherhood wage premiums: do formalization and performance pay matter? (2018)
Zitatform
Fuller, Sylvia (2018): Workplace variation in fatherhood wage premiums. Do formalization and performance pay matter? In: Work, employment and society, Jg. 32, H. 4, S. 768-788. DOI:10.1177/0950017018764534
Abstract
"Parenthood contributes substantially to broader gender wage inequality. The intensification of gendered divisions of paid and unpaid work after the birth of a child create unequal constraints and expectations such that, all else equal, mothers earn less than childless women, but fathers earn a wage premium. The fatherhood wage premium, however, varies substantially among men. Analyses of linked workplace-employee data from Canada reveal how organizational context conditions educational, occupational and family-status variation in fatherhood premiums. More formal employment relations (collective bargaining and human resource departments) reduce both overall fatherhood premiums and group differences in them, while performance pay systems (merit and incentive pay) have mixed effects. Shifting entrenched gendered divisions of household labour is thus not the only pathway to minimizing fathers' wage advantage." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Damned if you do, damned if you don't?: Experimental evidence on hiring discrimination against parents with differing lengths of family leave (2018)
Zitatform
Hipp, Lena (2018): Damned if you do, damned if you don't? Experimental evidence on hiring discrimination against parents with differing lengths of family leave. (SocArXiv Papers), 37 S. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/qsm4x
Abstract
"Trotz vieler Veränderungen in den letzten Jahren erfahren Mütter in Deutschland noch immer große Nachteile auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. In einem Experiment hat Lena Hipp, Leiterin der Nachwuchsgruppe Arbeit und Fürsorge, mit ihrem Team jetzt untersucht, ob sich eine veränderte Aufteilung von Kinderbetreuung positiv auf die Erwerbschancen von Müttern auswirkt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das nicht unbedingt der Fall ist. Mütter mit lediglich zwei Monaten Elternzeit werden deutlich seltener zum Vorstellungsgespräch eingeladen als Frauen, die ein Jahr Elternzeit genommen haben. Bei den Vätern dagegen spielt die Dauer der Elternzeit keine Rolle." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Rabenmütter, tolle Väter. Frauen schaden kurze und lange Elternzeiten bei ihrer Karriere - Männern nicht (2018)
Zitatform
Hipp, Lena (2018): Rabenmütter, tolle Väter. Frauen schaden kurze und lange Elternzeiten bei ihrer Karriere - Männern nicht. In: WZB-Mitteilungen H. 161, S. 28-30.
Abstract
"Trotz vieler Veränderungen in den letzten Jahren erfahren Mütter in Deutschland noch immer große Nachteile auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Mittels eines Experiments sollte herausgefunden werden, ob sich eine veränderte Aufteilung von Kinderbetreuung positiv auf die Erwerbschancen von Müttern auswirkt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das nicht unbedingt der Fall ist. Mütter mit lediglich zwei Monaten Elternzeit werden deutlich seltener zum Vorstellungsgespräch eingeladen als Frauen, die ein Jahr Elternzeit genommen haben. Bei den Vätern hingegen spielt die Dauer der Elternzeit keine Rolle." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Back to work: parental benefits and mothers' labor market outcomes in the medium run (2018)
Kluve, Jochen; Schmitz, Sebastian;Zitatform
Kluve, Jochen & Sebastian Schmitz (2018): Back to work: parental benefits and mothers' labor market outcomes in the medium run. In: ILR review, Jg. 71, H. 1, S. 143-173. DOI:10.1177/0019793917710933
Abstract
"The authors estimate policy impacts of a generous parental benefit in Germany by using a natural experiment and German census data. They estimate policy effects for the short run (first two years after childbirth) as well as for the medium run (that is, three to five years after childbirth). Although the results confirm the evidence from previous studies for the short run, pronounced patterns emerge for the medium run. First, effects on mothers' employment probability are positive, significant, and large, ranging up to 10%. These gains are driven primarily by increases in part-time employment and working hours but also by full-time employment for high-income mothers. Moreover, mothers return to their previous employers at significantly higher rates, and employers reward this by raising job quality. The overall positive and sizeable impacts of the reform are centered on mothers from the medium and high terciles of the income distribution; low-income mothers do not benefit." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Are the ideal worker and ideal parent norms about to change? The acceptance of part-time and parental leave at German workplaces (2018)
Zitatform
Lott, Yvonne & Christina Klenner (2018): Are the ideal worker and ideal parent norms about to change? The acceptance of part-time and parental leave at German workplaces. In: Community, work & family, Jg. 21, H. 5, S. 564-580. DOI:10.1080/13668803.2018.1526775
Abstract
"This study examines the extent to which the use of part-time work and parental leave is accepted at German workplaces. Is there evidence for a weakening of ideal worker and ideal parent norms? Interviews were conducted with 95 employees in different status positions in hospitals, police stations and industrial companies. The results indicate that even though ideal worker norms and ideal parent norms still prevail, especially in higher-status positions and typical male professions, they have shifted partially for some employees. Partial change can be observed for mothers in high-status positions (part-time) and for men up to mid-level positions (parental leave). There is greater acceptance of fathers’ parental leave, mainly due to the reform of the German parental leave legislation. Part-time for women in upper-level positions has become more accepted due to work-life balance policies at the company level. Norm changes, however, have stalled at the halfway mark. Fathers are still expected to prioritize their career and to schedule parental leave according to their organization’s business needs. Part-time working mothers in high-status positions are expected to deliver performance similar to that of full-time workers. Moreover, norm changes are hindered by economic constraints, mainly staff shortages." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
German mothers' labor market re-entry after parental leave: do parents' flexible working time arrangements help? (2018)
Zitatform
Lott, Yvonne (2018): German mothers' labor market re-entry after parental leave. Do parents' flexible working time arrangements help? (Hans-Böckler-Stiftung. Working paper Forschungsförderung 071), Düsseldorf, 41 S.
Abstract
"Flexible working time arrangements can help combine work and family life and might therefore encourage mothers' labor market re-entry after parental leave - without a reduction in working time. The present study shows that flexible working time arran-gements affect mothers' return into the labor market. Further policy measures, how-ever, are needed to support mothers' work capacity and to contribute to gender equality in relationships and at the workplace." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Weiterführende Informationen
Kurzfassung -
Literaturhinweis
Assessing the smooth rise in mothers' employment as children age (2018)
Lubotsky, Darren; Qureshi, Javaeria A.;Zitatform
Lubotsky, Darren & Javaeria A. Qureshi (2018): Assessing the smooth rise in mothers' employment as children age. In: Journal of Human Capital, Jg. 12, H. 4, S. 604-639. DOI:10.1086/700077
Abstract
"We study the trajectory of maternal employment as children age and assess the factors underlying the smooth increase in mothers' employment as their youngest child ages. Our results indicate that the rising employment profile is largely not associated with falling child care costs, changes in nonlabor income, or marital dissolution as children age. Differences in educational attainment and wage opportunities are related to some of the increase in employment when children are under 4 years old but do not explain any after that age. We discuss explanations for the rising pattern of mothers' employment that might be consistent with our results." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The role of PES in outreach to the inactive population: Study Report (2018)
Zitatform
Scharle, Ágota, Hugh Mosley & Miroslav Štefánik (2018): The role of PES in outreach to the inactive population. Study Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 93 S. DOI:10.2767/125717
Abstract
"The inactive population is not a traditional target group for the Public Employment Services (PES), although a significant share of the inactive population wants to work and is potentially available for work. Concerns about demographic trends have made the inactive an increasingly central focus of EU labor market policy. A rapidly shrinking labour force can negatively affect the full economic potential of the Union. Since the inactive are ordinarily not clients of PES, the PES, or other actors, have to engage in outreach activities to establish a relationship to this target group. The aim of the study is to provide an overview of outreach measures for the inactive with particular reference to the role of PES. Within the framework of this small scale study, we focus more narrowly on outreach activities for three target groups among the inactive that are central to current policy discussions on increasing labor force participation and social inclusion: 1. Inactive older workers 2. Working-age women not in the labor force 3. Ethnic minorities and migrants. The first part of the study surveys existing policy regimes and outreach measures for the selected target groups, based on the existing research literature and on national and EU sources. The second part examines in greater detail outreach measures for the target groups in 6 country case studies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Die räumliche Dimension der Vereinbarkeitsfrage: Wechselwirkungen zwischen Arbeitsweg und Elternschaft (2018)
Zitatform
Skora, Thomas (2018): Die räumliche Dimension der Vereinbarkeitsfrage. Wechselwirkungen zwischen Arbeitsweg und Elternschaft. In: Bevölkerungsforschung aktuell, Jg. 39, H. 3, S. 8-11.
Abstract
"Bei den gestiegenen Herausforderungen für Eltern, berufliche und familiäre Ziele miteinander vereinbaren zu können, wurde bisher im öffentlichen und wissenschaftlichen Diskurs der Aspekt des täglichen Pendelns zum Arbeitsplatz nur selten berücksichtigt. Diese Forschungslücke greift der Beitrag auf und untersucht, ob und inwieweit große Pendelentfernungen die Entscheidung zur Erstelternschaft beeinflussen. Gleichzeitig wird analysiert, welche Veränderungen die Familiengründung beim Pendel- und Erwerbsverhalten nach sich zieht. So zeigt sich zum Beispiel, dass vor allem westdeutsche Frauen im Zuge der Erstgeburt ihre Pendeldistanz im Durchschnitt reduzieren. Ergänzend dazu gibt der Autor, Dr. Thomas Skora, in einem Interview mit Bevölkerungsforschung Aktuell Auskunft über zentrale Ergebnisse seiner Studie, die zugleich auch seine Dissertation darstellt." (Autorenreferat)
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Literaturhinweis
From opt out to blocked out: the challenges for labor market re-entry after family-related employment lapses (2018)
Zitatform
Weisshaar, Katherine (2018): From opt out to blocked out: the challenges for labor market re-entry after family-related employment lapses. In: American Sociological Review, Jg. 83, H. 1, S. 34-60. DOI:10.1177/0003122417752355
Abstract
"In today's labor market, the majority of individuals experience a lapse in employment at some point in their careers, most commonly due to unemployment from job loss or leaving work to care for family or children. Existing scholarship has studied how unemployment affects subsequent career outcomes, but the consequences of temporarily 'opting out' of work to care for family are relatively unknown. In this article, I ask: how do 'opt out' parents fare when they re-enter the labor market? I argue that opting out signals a violation of ideal worker norms to employers -- norms that expect employees to be highly dedicated to work -- and that this signal is distinct from two other types of résumé signals: signals produced by unemployment due to job loss and the signal of motherhood or fatherhood. Using an original survey experiment and a large-scale audit study, I test the relative strength of these three résumé signals. I find that mothers and fathers who temporarily opted out of work to care for family fared significantly worse in terms of hiring prospects, relative to applicants who experienced unemployment due to job loss and compared to continuously employed mothers and fathers. I examine variation in these signals' effects across local labor markets, and I find that within competitive markets, penalties emerged for continuously employed mothers and became even greater for opt out fathers. This research provides a causal test of the micro- and macro-level demand-side processes that disadvantage parents who leave work to care for family. This is important because when opt out applicants are prevented from re-entering the labor market, employers reinforce standards that exclude parents from full participation in work." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Return-to-work policies and labor supply in disability insurance programs (2018)
Zitatform
Zaresani, Arezou (2018): Return-to-work policies and labor supply in disability insurance programs. In: AEA papers and proceedings, Jg. 108, S. 272-276. DOI:10.1257/pandp.20181047
Abstract
"Return-to-work policies in disability insurance (DI) programs allow beneficiaries to collect a portion of their benefits while working. I investigate whether a large increase in incentives to work in a return-to-work policy could induce benefit recipients to increase their labor supply. I quantify the effects on earnings and labor force participation using a sharp discontinuity in the induced incentives to work at the month of the policy change in a DI program in Canada. Using administrative data, I document that large incentives to work could induce beneficiaries to increase their labor supply both in intensive and extensive margins." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The sorting of female careers after first birth: a competing risks analysis of maternity leave duration (2017)
Zitatform
Arntz, Melanie, Stephan Dlugosz & Ralf A. Wilke (2017): The sorting of female careers after first birth. A competing risks analysis of maternity leave duration. In: Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Jg. 79, H. 5, S. 689-716. DOI:10.1111/obes.12158
Abstract
"A number of contributions have found evidence that motherhood is a critical life event for women's employment careers. This study presents a detailed analysis for the duration of maternity leave in which young mothers can make a transition into different types of employment, unemployment as well as the next birth. We provide a comprehensive picture of the sorting mechanisms that lead to the differentiation of women's employment careers after birth. Our empirical evidence is derived from large-linked administrative individual labour market data from Germany for a period of three decades. We obtain unprecedented insights into how women's skills, the quality of the previous job match, firm level characteristics, labour market conditions and leave legislation are related to the length of maternity duration. Expansionary leave policies, e.g. are found to be a key factor for the rising share of women who have their second child out of inactivity." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Cross-country evidence on motherhood employment and wage gaps: the role of work-family policies and their interaction (2017)
Zitatform
Cukrowska-Torzewska, Ewa (2017): Cross-country evidence on motherhood employment and wage gaps. The role of work-family policies and their interaction. In: Social Politics, Jg. 24, H. 2, S. 178-220. DOI:10.1093/sp/jxx004
Abstract
"This article investigates the effects of work - family policies on motherhood employment and wage gaps. We study twenty-eight European countries, including Central and Eastern European countries. We show that unless the leave period is exceptionally long, enhanced childcare and leave policies help women combine family responsibilities with paid work. The positive effect of leaves is, however, much weaker in countries where childcare is limited. In these countries, improving access to childcare is therefore a more efficient policy than offering extended leaves. Because extended leaves encourage women to stay outside of the labor market, they are found to lead to wage penalties." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Back to work: The long-term effects of vocational training for female job returners (2017)
Doerr, Annabelle;Zitatform
Doerr, Annabelle (2017): Back to work: The long-term effects of vocational training for female job returners. (Freiburger Diskussionspapiere zur Ordnungsökonomik 17/02), Freiburg i. Br., 39 S.
Abstract
"This paper studies how training vouchers increase the employment prospects of women with interrupted employment histories. Using the population of female job returners who receive a training voucher to participate in training courses and a randomly selected control group from German administrative data, we analyze the effectiveness of training on the employment probability, monthly earnings and job quality. The results suggest that the receipt of a training voucher translates into a higher employment probability and higher monthly earnings. We find an positive impact on the job quality, e.g. the probability to be full-time employed increases significantly. In contrast, the probability to be marginally employed decreases by 5 percentage points in the long-run. We count this as an indicator for employment stability. The investigation of effect heterogeneity reveals some interesting insights regarding the vocational degrees, and the different types of training courses. The effectiveness of vocational training increases with the provided human capital in the courses. Several robustness checks support a causal interpretation of the results and highlight the importance of vocational training for the very special sub-group of female job-returners." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
How long is too long? Long-term effects of maternity-related job interruptions on mothers' income in 10 European countries (2017)
Zitatform
Dotti Sani, Giulia M. & Matteo Luppi (2017): How long is too long? Long-term effects of maternity-related job interruptions on mothers' income in 10 European countries. (Carlo Alberto notebooks 513), Turin, 27 S.
Abstract
"This article inquires whether work interruptions due to childbearing and childrearing have long-term effects on mothers' absolute and relative income in later life in ten European countries. Previous studies have found significant differences in earned income among prime-age women and men, and mothers and fathers, with mothers earning significantly less than men and childless women, both in absolute and relative terms. Many factors account for such differences, including mothers' reduced working hours and productivity, the type of job, job interruptions, self-selection and statistical discrimination. However, while research has investigated the short- and medium-term consequences of having children on mothers absolute and relative earnings, less is known about the long-term effects of childbearing and childrearing on mothers' income in later life. In this article, we investigate whether the length of maternity-related work interruptions is associated with income inequalities at a later age. The analysis, based on four waves of SHARE data (N 7,746), indicates that while short work interruptions are not negatively associated with mothers' absolute and relative earned income in later life, long work interruptions and a failure to return to work have a large impact on women's long-term economic wellbeing, especially in countries where decommodification through family and pension policies is limited." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Longer maternity leave - healthier mothers? (2017)
Zitatform
Gürtzgen, Nicole & Karsten Hank (2017): Longer maternity leave - healthier mothers? In: IAB-Forum H. 21.12.2017, o. Sz., 2017-12-19.
Abstract
"Leave policies allowing parents to take time off work after childbirth are considered an important measure to buffer the stresses associated with childrearing and gainful employment. Despite reducing this double burden, longer leave periods do not necessarily support the return of healthier mothers into the labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Beteiligte aus dem IAB
Gürtzgen, Nicole; -
Literaturhinweis
Beeinflussen berufstypische Arbeitszeitmerkmale die Unterbrechungsdauer von Frauen?: Eine längsschnittliche Analyse der Bedeutung beruflicher Merkmale für die Berufsrückkehr von Müttern in Deutschland (2017)
Hondralis, Irina; Buchholz, Sandra;Zitatform
Hondralis, Irina & Sandra Buchholz (2017): Beeinflussen berufstypische Arbeitszeitmerkmale die Unterbrechungsdauer von Frauen? Eine längsschnittliche Analyse der Bedeutung beruflicher Merkmale für die Berufsrückkehr von Müttern in Deutschland. In: Zeitschrift für Familienforschung, Jg. 29, H. 2, S. 156-178. DOI:10.3224/zff.v29i2.02
Abstract
"Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, ob berufstypische Arbeitszeitmerkmale die Erwerbsunterbrechungsdauer von Frauen nach der Familiengründung beeinflussen und welche Bedeutung berufstypische Arbeitszeitmerkmale für Frauen mit unterschiedlichem Bildungsniveau haben. Dazu wurden die Längsschnittdaten der Erwachsenenkohorte des Nationalen Bildungspanels über ein Daten-Linkage mit aggregierten Berufsdaten aus dem Mikrozensus angereichert. Die Ergebnisse der empirischen Analysen zeigen, dass sich berufstypische Arbeitszeiten neben Individualmerkmalen signifikant auf die Berufsrückkehr von Müttern auswirken. Für hochqualifizierte Frauen erwiesen sich lediglich die für einen Beruf typischen Überstunden als einflussreich. Dieses Ergebnis deutet darauf hin, dass die Rückkehr von Akademikerinnen aufgrund von höheren Opportunitätskosten und womöglich auch einer höhere Erwerbsneigung durch die arbeitszeitlichen Gegebenheiten im Austrittberuf kaum tangiert ist. Für mittel- und insbesondere geringqualifizierte Frauen sind jedoch andere Faktoren, nämlich die Arbeitszeitlänge, die Verbreitung von Heimarbeit und - für beruflich nicht qualifizierte Frauen - auch die Verbreitung von Nacht- und Wochenendarbeit relevant. Insgesamt legen unsere Ergebnisse nahe, dass berufstypische Arbeitszeiten insbesondere für die Unterbrechungsdauer von geringgebildeten Müttern eine bedeutende Rolle spielen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
Work and Care Opportunities under Different Parental Leave Systems: Gender and Class Inequalities in Northern Europe (2017)
Zitatform
Javornik, Jana & Anna Kurowska (2017): Work and Care Opportunities under Different Parental Leave Systems. Gender and Class Inequalities in Northern Europe. In: Social policy and administration, Jg. 51, H. 4, S. 617-637. DOI:10.1111/spol.12316
Abstract
"This article analyses public parental leave in eight northern European countries, and assesses its opportunity potential to facilitate equal parental involvement and employment, focusing on gender and income opportunity gaps. It draws on Sen's capability and Weber's ideal-types approach to analyze policies across countries. It offers the ideal parental leave architecture, one which minimizes the policy-generated gender and class inequality in parents' opportunities to share parenting and keep their jobs, thus providing real opportunities for different groups of individuals to achieve valued functionings as parents. Five policy indicators are created using benchmarking and graphical analysis. Two sources of opportunity inequality are considered: the leave system as the opportunity and constraint structure, and the socio-economic contexts as the conversion factors. The article produces a comprehensive overview of national leave policies, visually presenting leave policy across countries. Considering policy capability ramifications beyond gender challenges a family policy-cluster idea and the Nordic-Baltic divide. It demonstrates that leave systems in northern Europe are far from homogenous; they diverge in the degree to which they create real opportunities for parents and children as well as in key policy dimensions through which these opportunities are created." (Author's abstract, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Is part-time employment after childbirth a stepping-stone into full-time work?: A cohort study for East and West Germany (2017)
Zitatform
Kelle, Nadiya, Julia Simonson & Laura Romeu Gordo (2017): Is part-time employment after childbirth a stepping-stone into full-time work? A cohort study for East and West Germany. In: Feminist economics, Jg. 23, H. 4, S. 201-224. DOI:10.1080/13545701.2016.1257143
Abstract
"Does part-time work support first-time mothers' employment by providing a stepping-stone into full-time work in Germany? Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel from 1984-2012, this study compares three different age cohorts of first-time East and West German mothers to investigate whether there has been any convergence between East and West Germany in the way women use part-time employment. Results show that mothers in West Germany in all cohorts tended to remain in part-time employment for longer periods than those in East Germany. Part-time employment more often provided a stepping-stone into full-time employment in East Germany than in West Germany. East German women who gave birth after reunification were less likely than older cohorts to experience a transition from part-time to full-time work. Thus, part-time employment not followed by subsequent full-time work has become more common in the East." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))