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In contemporary societies, the growing need for flexibility and its impact on labour markets are highly debated. The deregulation of labour markets has led to a growing proportion of workers in various atypical employment relationships, such as temporary jobs. In this respect Spain stands out, from a European perspective, as a country that has experienced a fast and intense shift from one of the most rigid employment protection systems to a highly flexible labour market with an extraordinarily high proportion of temporary employees. The Spanish labour market is highly segmented with ‘insiders’ in permanent positions, and ‘outsiders’ (unemployed and inactive) and work-insecure employees in temporary posts, particularly among youth. This article attempts to gauge the impact of increasing flexibility on transitions to adulthood in Spain. Using the Spanish European Community Household Panel, the analysis concentrates on three interrelated transitions: labour market entry, first marriage and first parenthood. Previous contributions have well elaborated the repercussions of non-employment. What makes this study distinct is the particular focus on precarious employment relationships and individuals’ perception of job security. The results give a first indication that the type of employment relationship and the perception of job security seem to matter in the studied transition processes.

DFG Research Center (SFB) "From Heterogeneities to Inequalities"Whether fat or thin, male or female, young or old -people are different. Alongside their physical features, they also differ in terms of nationality and ethnicity; in their cultural preferences, lifestyles, attitudes, orientations, and philosophies; in their competencies, qualifications, and traits; and in their professions. But how do such heterogeneities lead to social inequalities? What are the social mechanisms that underlie this process? These are the questions pursued by the DFG Research Center (Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB)) "From Heterogeneities to Inequalities" at Bielefeld University, which was approved by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as "SFB 882" on May 25, 2011.In the social sciences, research on inequality is dispersed across different research fields such as education, the labor market, equality, migration, health, or gender. One goal of the SFB is to integrate these fields, searching for common mechanisms in the emergence of inequality that can be compiled into a typology. More than fifty senior and junior researchers and the Bielefeld University Library are involved in the SFB. Along with sociologists, it brings together scholars from the Bielefeld University faculties of Business Administration and Economics, Educational Science, Health Science, and Law, as well as from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin and the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. In addition to carrying out research, the SFB is concerned to nurture new academic talent, and therefore provides doctoral training in its own integrated Research Training Group. A data infrastructure project has also been launched to archive, prepare, and disseminate the data gathered. Research Project A3 "Gender-Specific Patterns of Opportunity in Employment"This project aims to identify the mechanisms of inequality of occupational opportunities for men and women. The research is investigating different areas and phases of life and considering the role of cumulative disadvantage in family and social networks as well as in the family of origin both before and during employment. Empirically, the project is applying a cohort sequence analysis based on panel data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP). The AuthorsMiriam Bröckel is a member of the SFB 882 research project A3 "Gender-Specific Patterns of Opportunity in Employment". Her research focuses on couples and gendered occupational career pathways as well as on quantitative methods. Contact: miriam.broeckel@uni-bielefeld.deAnne Busch is assistant professor of sociology (labour, organisation, gender) at the Universitaet Hamburg (Hamburg University). Prior to this she was a member of the SFB 882 research project A3 "Gender-specific Patterns of Opportunity in Employment". Furthermore, she worked for several years as a research associate in the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) at DIW Berlin. Her research interests include gender inequality on the labor market, occupational sex segregation, and quant...

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