Family-supportive workplace policies and benefits and fertility intentions in South Korea

ABSTRACT

In 2017, South Korea’s total fertility rate was 1.26 live births per woman, the sixth-lowest in the world. Employment is significantly negatively associated with second births in Korea. To increase fertility rates and help working women better balance work and family lives, a series of government family-supportive workplace policies and employer-provided occupational benefits have been implemented and expanded. The present study examined the effects of family-supportive workplace policies and benefits on boosting working women's fertility intentions in Korea by the current number of children (i.e. parity). Using the 2007–2012 Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families (N = 3,405 working women), the study examined seven family policies and benefits. Results revealed that childcare leave was significantly associated with increasing working women’s first birth intentions. Also, women’s second birth intentions increased significantly when they had more family-supportive provisions at their workplaces. Despite these results, a majority of women perceived the family provisions to be unavailable at their workplaces. The present study underscores that women's fertility decisions differ significantly by parity and informs policymakers in their efforts to develop family provisions that address these differences and make family provisions more readily available.

KEYWORDS:

• Fertility intentions
• South Korea
• second birth intentions
• parity
• workplace family provisions

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eun Jung Kim

Dr Eun Jung Kim is a postdoctoral researcher at the Asian Demographic Research Institute, Shanghai University. Her research focuses on family studies, in particular, work-family balance and fertility. She has a PhD in Social Policy from Brandeis University. Dr Kim has previously worked at the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), a national social policy institute. She has published several articles in top ranked peer-reviewed journals, including Social Policy & Administration, Disability & Society, and Asian Population Studies.

Susan L. Parish

Dr Susan L. Parish is the dean and professor at the College of Health Professions, Virginia Commonwealth University. She is currently co-director of the National Research Center for Parents with Disabilities, and a member of the board of the American Association on Health and Disability. Dr. Parish has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles. Her work has been supported by nearly $20 million from foundations, NIH, and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), among others.