Women's employment patterns during early parenthood: A group‐based trajectory analysis

Abstract

Research on women's employment and parenthood frequently focuses on the correlates and consequences of decisions at a particular time, such as a birth. This article applies a group‐based trajectory method to examine women's employment trajectories across the period of early parenthood using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (N= 2,093). We find that throughout early parenthood, women exhibit significant movement into and out of the labor force. Factors that typically predict women's employment status, such as age at first birth and education, are also good predictors of women's employment patterns. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research, particularly on the use of a static measure of women's or couples’ employment status.

Mothers' Long-Term Employment Patterns

“…Other studies examine the return to employment postpartum, focusing on at most the employment of mothers of preschool-aged children (Desai and Waite 1991b;Glass and Riley 1998;Halpin 2010;Hynes and Clarkberg 2005;Joesch 1994;Leibowitz 1994, 1999;Leibowitz and Klerman 1995;Leibowitz, Klerman, and Waite 1992;Wenk and Garrett 1992). This approach is especially useful when the goal is to examine the experiences of new mothers or to evaluate policies designed to support the combination of employment and care of infants.…”

“…Most prior studies of women's or maternal employment take a static or short-term view, modeling either current employment conditions (Blau and Kahn 2007;Boushey 2008;Percheski 2008) or employment outcomes within several years immediately postpartum (Desai and Waite 1991a;Glass and Riley 1998;Halpin 2010;Hynes and Clarkberg 2005;Joesch 1994; Leibowitz 1994, 1999;Leibowitz, Klerman, and Waite 1992;Wenk and Garrett 1992). As a result, we know little about the long-term labor market trajectories women experience as they raise their children.…”

“…In this way, we expand on prior research on maternal employment that has focused on the experiences of highly educated women and women in professional occupations (Blair-Loy 1999;Herr and Wolfram 2012;Hersch 2013;Percheski 2008;Stone 2007), a group that is both a small share of American mothers and, if anything, least likely to experience a substantial postpartum break in employment (Hynes and Clarkberg 2005;Laughlin 2011). …”

Honderdvijftig jaar levenslopen : De Historische Steekproef Nederlandse bevolking

“…Sociale veranderingen beïnvloeden immers niet alleen afzonderlijke transities, maar ook de volgorde en timing daarvan binnen complexe ketens van gedragskeuzen. Bovendien combineren trajecten oorzaak en gevolg en reflecteren zo op een andere manier dan transities de geleefde werkelijkheid (Hynes & Clarkberg, 2005;Pollock, 2007). We bestuderen in deze bijdrage trajecten tijdens de overgangsfase naar de volwassenheid (15-40 jaar) en richten ons in het bijzonder op trajecten van leefvormen.…”

LLCS Vol 1, Issue 1, Full Issue

“…Nor do they account for the fluidity of employment status, i.e. movements into and out of the labour force, for many parents along the life course (Hynes & Clarkberg, 2005). Moreover, they focus on one direction of the shift, usually from family to work, i.e.…”