Gender, work and childbearing: couple analysis of work adjustments after the transition to parenthood

Abstract

This study focuses on Swedish couples' work adjustments following the transition to parenthood. Specifically, we ask whether couples' gender role attitudes influence whether they make adjustments to their work situations after the end of the parental leave. Using couple data from the Young Adult Panel Study, we find that both partners are more likely to make work adjustments when both partners hold egalitarian attitudes. It is also more likely that only the male partner will make work changes when both partners are egalitarian. When one partner holds more egalitarian attitudes than the other partner, it tends to have a stronger impact on the work adjustments of the more egalitarian partner. For example, couples with egalitarian male partners are more than three times as likely to have the male partner change his work situation as couples in which neither partner holds egalitarian attitudes. While less consistent, there is some evidence that female egalitarian attitudes increase the likelihood of female work changes.

Este estudio se centra en los ajustes laborales experimentados por las parejas suecas tras su transición a la maternidad o paternidad. En concreto, nos preguntamos si las actitudes hacia los roles de género de estas parejas influyen en la modificación de sus situaciones laborales una vez que finaliza el periodo del permiso parental. Utilizando datos de pareja del Young Adult Panel Study, observamos que la probabilidad de que ambos miembros de la pareja ajusten sus condiciones laborales es mayor cuando tienen actitudes igualitarias. Es también más probable que sea el hombre el que haga más cambios cuando ambos miembros son igualitarios. Cuando uno de los dos presenta actitudes más igualitarias que el otro, suele tener un mayor impacto sobre los ajustes laborales del miembro más igualitario. Por ejemplo, en parejas donde el hombre es más igualitario, es tres veces más probable que sea él quien modifique sus condiciones laborales que en las parejas en que ninguno de los dos es igualitario. Aunque con menor fuerza, los resultados sugieren también que las mujeres con actitudes igualitarias incrementan la probabilidad de realizar modificaciones en su trabajo.

Keywords:

• work and family
• transition to parenthood
• work adjustments
• gender role attitudes
• couple data
• Sweden

Palabras claves:

• trabajo y familia
• transición a la paternidad/maternidad
• condiciones laborales
• actitudes ante los roles de género
• datos de pareja
• Suecia

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Maria Brandén, Ann-Zofie Duvander, Marie Evertsson, Michael Gähler, Calvin Goldscheider, Frances Goldscheider, Ursula Henz, Trude Lappegård, Livia Oláh and Maria Stanfors for helpful comments on earlier versions of our paper.

Funding

The Young Adult Panel Study was funded by several grants, including the Swedish Council for Social Research [grant number F0138/1998]; the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research [grant number 2001-1075], [grant number 2001-4022], [grant number 2002-0117] and [grant number 2007-0154]; the Committee for Longitudinal Research at the Swedish Research Council [grant number 2002-3727]; and the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation [grant number J2000-0063]. This research was further supported by a Dean Rusk grant and a Davidson College Faculty and Study Research grant.

Notes

1. Although the non-response decreased over time, the accumulated sample attrition after the third survey was of course considerable, but less so for women and for respondents with higher education. For more details on the attrition, see Wanders (2012).

2. We should note that the most likely situation among this 32.4% of couples is for both to continue working full-time. However, if one or both reduce their work hours to a limited degree (e.g., from 40 to 37 hours), they may consider this ‘roughly the same as before’.

3. Further analysis of gender role attitudes and number of work changes shows that egalitarian men make significantly more work changes than less egalitarian men.

Additional information

Funding

The Young Adult Panel Study was funded by several grants, including the Swedish Council for Social Research [grant number F0138/1998]; the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research [grant number 2001-1075], [grant number 2001-4022], [grant number 2002-0117] and [grant number 2007-0154]; the Committee for Longitudinal Research at the Swedish Research Council [grant number 2002-3727]; and the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation [grant number J2000-0063]. This research was further supported by a Dean Rusk grant and a Davidson College Faculty and Study Research grant.