Parenthood and Subsequent Employment: Changes in the Labor Participation of Fathers Across Cohorts as Compared to Mothers

Abstract

In the literature there is plenty of evidence available on the effect of childbearing on female employment biographies. In the present paper, we extend the analysis to men and show how parenthood differently affects employment biographies of men and women. We also investigate how these differences change with time. Concretely, we are interested in the question whether in the process of social change women are becoming more committed to the labor force and men increasingly adjusting their employment biographies after the birth of the first child. Further, we take regional differences into account. Traditionally, the employment biographies especially of East and West German women have differed substantially. Whereas in West Germany there has been a dominance of the male bread winner model for a long time, women in East Germany have been more strongly integrated into the labour market. Therefore, we analyze 1) How do employment biographies of men and women differ after the birth of their first child? 2) How has the difference between mothers’ and fathers’ subsequent employment biographies changed over time? 3) How do these trends differ by region? We analyze employment histories of men and women from age 15 up to 45, based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). To track changes over time we observe biographies of three different cohorts born in years 1936-45, 1946-55, and 1956-65. Results show that the employment patterns of women change considerably after the birth of their first child, so they spend more episodes as homemakers and part-time workers, whereas the employment biographies of fathers remain mainly characterized by full-time employment, regardless of the cohort. Concerning regional differences we conclude that there are no exceptional differences in parenthood consequences for men between East and West Germany. For women we observe significant differences between West and East Germany. Although homemaker episodes in West Germany are getting shorter over time, mothers’ employment interruptions are still much longer than in East Germany.