Is Part-Time Employment after Childbirth a Stepping-Stone into Full-Time Work? A Cohort Study for East and West Germany |
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Authors: | Nadiya Kelle Julia Simonson |
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Institution: | 1. WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Reichpietschufer 50, Berlin 10785, Germany. e-mail: nadiya.kelle@wzb.eu;2. German Centre of Gerontology (DZA), Manfred-von-Richthofen-Strasse 2, Berlin 12101, Germany. e-mail: julia.simonson@dza.de |
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Abstract: | Does part-time work support first-time mothers’ employment by providing a stepping-stone into full-time work in Germany? Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel from 1984–2012, this study compares three different age cohorts of first-time East and West German mothers to investigate whether there has been any convergence between East and West Germany in the way women use part-time employment. Results show that mothers in West Germany in all cohorts tended to remain in part-time employment for longer periods than those in East Germany. Part-time employment more often provided a stepping-stone into full-time employment in East Germany than in West Germany. East German women who gave birth after reunification were less likely than older cohorts to experience a transition from part-time to full-time work. Thus, part-time employment not followed by subsequent full-time work has become more common in the East. |
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Keywords: | Part-time work female labor force participation employment |
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