the parenthood effect: what explains the increase in gender inequality when british couples become...
TRANSCRIPT
The parenthood effect: what explains the increase in gender inequality when
British couples become parents?
Pia Schober
London School of Economics
Motivation Gender inequality in time allocations and wages widen
from parenthood
Few studies exploring this transition include changes in paid and domestic work
Most only describe change (Gershuny 2003) or based on small non-representative samples (e.g. Singley and Hynes 2005)
Mostly US evidence
What pre-parental factors can explain change in couples‘ division of labour after becoming parents?
Theories Explanatory factors
Neo-classical economic theory
Resource-bargaining approach
Relative earnings (substitution effect)
Absolute earnings (income effect)
Doing gender approach Social exchange theory
Gender role attitudes Reinforcing dependency
of pre-parental division of labour
Hypotheses
A couple‘s division of childcare, housework and paid work expected to be less traditional:
H1: The higher the woman’s relative earnings H2: The higher the woman’s absolute earnings and the
lower the man’s
H3: The more egalitarian the woman’s and the man’s gender role attitudes
H4: The less traditional their pre-parental division of labour
Research Design
British Household Panel Survey (1992-2005) Sample of 549 cohabiting couples becoming parents Women older than 20 years Focus on 2nd year after birth Ordered and binary logistic regressions of couples‘
childcare, housework and paid work division 1/3 missing data imputed through chained equations Not considered: maternity leave and interdependencies
Dependent variables
Whether mother has main childcare responsibility or father equally or more responsible
Women‘s weekly housework hours as % of couple‘s total in quartile categories
Women‘s weekly paid work hours as % of couple‘s total in quartile categories
0
20
40
60
80
100
-2 -1 1 2 3
Years before and after 1st birth
Per
cent
Women with main childcare responsibility
Women's housework share
Women's paid work hours share
1st birth
Change in couples‘ division of labour
0
10
20
30
40
50
-2 -1 1 2 3
Years before and after 1st birth
Ho
urs
per
wee
k
Women's housework hours Men's housework hours
Women's paid work hours Men's paid work hours
Birth
Change in paid work and housework hours
Explanatory variables Women‘s relative hourly earnings Men‘s monthly earnings and women‘s hourly wage rate Women‘s and men‘s gender role attitudes Women‘s pre-parental housework and paid work share
Controls: Both partners‘ education, women‘s age, age difference Relationship duration, marital status Age and sex of 1st child Whether will have 2nd child within 3 years Job dissatisfaction and employment sector Survey year
Modelling
Divison of paid work, housework and childcare
1) Additive effects of earnings and gender role attitudes
2) Including pre-parental division of labour
Women‘s and men‘s absolute time:
3) Additive effects of earnings and gender role attitudes
4) Including pre-parental division of labour
Model 1-3: Mothers' share of ….Childcare
responsibilityHousework
time Paid work
time
Coeff Coeff Coeff Woman's relative hourly earnings -0.011 -0.008+ 0.027***Log of man's monthly earnings 0.302 0.095 -0.023 Woman's hourly wage top 25% -0.227 -0.586+ 0.237 Woman's hourly wage mid 50% -0.390 -0.534* 0.266 Woman's hourly wage bottom 25%
Woman' gender role attitudes -0.713* -0.631*** 0.786***Man's gender role attitudes -0.765* -0.772** 0.335**
Results I
Model 1-3: Mothers' share of ….Childcare
responsibilityHousework
time Paid work
time
Coeff Coeff Coeff Woman's relative hourly earnings -0.011 -0.008+ 0.027***Log of man's monthly earnings 0.302 0.095 -0.023 Woman's hourly wage top 25% -0.227 -0.586+ 0.237 Woman's hourly wage mid 50% -0.390 -0.534* 0.266 Woman's hourly wage bottom 25%
Woman' gender role attitudes -0.713* -0.631*** 0.786***Man's gender role attitudes -0.765* -0.772** 0.335**
Results I
Model 1-3: Mothers' share of ….Childcare
responsibilityHousework
time Paid work
time
Coeff Coeff Coeff Woman's relative hourly earnings -0.011 -0.008+ 0.027***Log of man's monthly earnings 0.302 0.095 -0.023 Woman's hourly wage top 25% -0.227 -0.586+ 0.237 Woman's hourly wage mid 50% -0.390 -0.534* 0.266 Woman's hourly wage bottom 25%
Woman' gender role attitudes -0.713* -0.631*** 0.786***Man's gender role attitudes -0.765* -0.772** 0.335**
Results I
Results II
Model 4-6: Mothers' share of ….Childcare
responsibility Housework
time Paid work
time
Coeff Coeff Coeff
Woman's pre-birth housework share 0.023*** 0.049*** -0.011*Woman's -pre-birth paid work share -0.008 -0.005 0.040***Woman's relative hourly earnings 0.000 0.008 -0.000Log of man's monthly earnings 0.359 0.204 -0.275+
Woman's hourly wage top 25% -0.283 -0.864** 0.462Woman's hourly wage mid 50% -0.396 -0.681* 0.327Woman's hourly wage bottom 25%
Woman' gender role attitudes -0.644* -0.621** 0.776***Man's gender role attitudes -0.701* -0.615** 0.420*
Results II
Model 4-6: Mothers' share of ….Childcare
responsibility Housework
time Paid work
time
Coeff Coeff Coeff
Woman's pre-birth housework share 0.023*** 0.049*** -0.011*Woman's -pre-birth paid work share -0.008 -0.005 0.040***Woman's relative hourly earnings 0.000 0.008 -0.000Log of man's monthly earnings 0.359 0.204 -0.275+
Woman's hourly wage top 25% -0.283 -0.864** 0.462Woman's hourly wage mid 50% -0.396 -0.681* 0.327Woman's hourly wage bottom 25%
Woman' gender role attitudes -0.644* -0.621** 0.776***Man's gender role attitudes -0.701* -0.615** 0.420*
Results II
Model 4-6: Mothers' share of ….Childcare
responsibility Housework
time Paid work
time
Coeff Coeff Coeff
Woman's pre-birth housework share 0.023*** 0.049*** -0.011*Woman's -pre-birth paid work share -0.008 -0.005 0.040***Woman's relative hourly earnings 0.000 0.008 -0.000Log of man's monthly earnings 0.359 0.204 -0.275+
Woman's hourly wage top 25% -0.283 -0.864** 0.462Woman's hourly wage mid 50% -0.396 -0.681* 0.327Woman's hourly wage bottom 25%
Woman' gender role attitudes -0.644* -0.621** 0.776***Man's gender role attitudes -0.701* -0.615** 0.420*
Results II
Model 4-6: Mothers' share of ….Childcare
responsibility Housework
time Paid work
time
Coeff Coeff Coeff
Woman's pre-birth housework share 0.023*** 0.049*** -0.011*Woman's -pre-birth paid work share -0.008 -0.005 0.040***Woman's relative hourly earnings 0.000 0.008 -0.000Log of man's monthly earnings 0.359 0.204 -0.275+
Woman's hourly wage top 25% -0.283 -0.864** 0.462Woman's hourly wage mid 50% -0.396 -0.681* 0.327Woman's hourly wage bottom 25%
Woman' gender role attitudes -0.644* -0.621** 0.776***Man's gender role attitudes -0.701* -0.615** 0.420*
Summary and conclusion
Pre-parental division of labour and gender role attitudes account for most change
Relative earnings not significant for shift towards greater traditionalism
Women‘s absolute earnings significant for housework division (increasing men‘s housework time)
Contrast with US results may point to greater choice of work and care arrangements in UK
Modelling strategy
1a) hit = ß1 + ß2(hw/(hw+hh)) it-2+ ß3(ew/(ew+eh)) it-2 + ß4gw it-1+ ß5gh it-1+….+ßkXit
1b) Log[cit/(1- cit)]= ß1 + ß2(hw/(hw+hh)) it-2+ ß3(ew/(ew+eh)) it-2 ß5gw it-1+ ß4gh it-1+….+ßkXit
1c) pit = ß1 + ß2(hw/(hw+hh)) it-2+ ß3(ew/(ew+eh)) it-2 ß4gw it-1+ ß5gh it-1+….+ßkXit
2a) hit=ß1+ß2(hw/(hw+hh))it-2+ß3(ew/(ew+eh))it-2+ ß4(ew/(ew+eh))it-2*d(eh)it-2+…+ßkXit
3a) hit =ß1+ß2(hw/(hw+hh))it-2+ß3(ew/(ew+eh))it-2+ß4gwit-2+ß3(ew/(ew+eh))it-2*gwit-2+ßkXit
hw…wives’ housework hours hh….husbands’ housework hours
ew…..wives’ monthly earnings eh…husbands’ monthly earnings
hw…wives’ housework hours hh….husbands’ housework hours
gw…wives’ gender role attitudes d(eh)…dummy for husband is top earner