Women’s Employment–Family Trajectories and Well-Being in Later Life: Evidence From France

Abstract

Objective: Previous research in various countries has found that employment–family trajectories characterized by early or single motherhood, or weak ties to employment, are associated with poor well-being among older women. Our paper explores whether this differs (1) in France, characterized by a high female employment rate and supportive family policies; (2) across dimensions of well-being. Method: We used the Health and Occupational Itinerary survey to identify 10 common patterns of employment–family trajectories (derived from multi-channel sequence analysis) and analysed their association with six indicators of well-being in 2010 ( N = 2882 50–78 years old women). Results: Continuous full-time employment is associated with better well-being, except for women who had a first child around 24 years old, who reported increased anxiety and lack of support. Discussion: Employed mothers’ well-being seems to be protected in a context of family friendly policies, but we identified one group with lower well-being, which merits further study.

Working Status of First-Time Postpartum Mothers and Telomere Length—A 1-Year Prospective Study

“…However, this does not apply to women who had their first child around 24 years; they reported more anxiety, poorer perceived health, and lower social support compared with older full-time working women. 16 An additional study demonstrated that earlier transition into parenthood was significantly associated with increased metabolic risk regardless of career attachment or marital stability. 17 Therefore, it might be imperative to distinguish between unemployed postpartum mothers who have consciously chosen to take time off work for a relatively short period to care for their newborn and those who have been unem-Telomeres are the protective caps at the end of chromosomes, which protect genetic material and shorten with each cell division.…”

“…Mothers’ age might play a role here; a recent study in France found that consistently having a full-time job is generally linked to enhanced well-being. However, this does not apply to women who had their first child around 24 years; they reported more anxiety, poorer perceived health, and lower social support compared with older full-time working women 16 . An additional study demonstrated that earlier transition into parenthood was significantly associated with increased metabolic risk regardless of career attachment or marital stability 17 .…”