The parenthood effect: what explains the increase in gender inequality when British couples become...

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

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

The parenthood effect: what explains the increase in gender inequality when British couples become...

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