Historical models of fertility have often focused on a link between gender
roles and labor force participation. Recent trends indicate an increased
level of the female labor force participation rates, which would seem to
suggest trade-offs with childrearing and motherhood. Government and employer
policies have begun to focus on mitigating this divide between work and
motherhood amongst women. This paper reviews current literature with the
intent to answer the question; can we resolve the conflict between employment
and motherhood?
This paper is divided into six sections. The first section will focus on
the link between gender roles and fertility and in particular highlight
the evolving view of gender roles. The second section will investigate modern
trends in the work-family balance. The third section will explore the relationship
between policies that grant maternity leave and the effect on fertility
rates, with the intent to determine whether or not offering such policies
has a negative impact on businesses and fertility rates. The fourth section
will compare current policy in the United States to that of other developed
nations in order to pinpoint the effects of maternity leave on a society.
The fifth section outlines policy implications suggested by the literature.
The final section summarizes the paper.
Gender Roles and Fertility
There are several models of the family and gender roles used in population
economics. The conventional model theorizes a sexual division of labor whereby
men specialize in the paid labor market while women specialize in unpaid
labor market activities such as childrearing (Joshi, 1998). This model is
based on the idea of comparative advantage that suggests an increased efficiency
of specialization along these gender lines. Traditional gender roles cite
that women have less skill and are therefore less suited for entrance into
the labor market. Alternatively, the determinant of specialization of labor
according to gender roles could be unequal treatment in the workforce, particularly
as viewed through wages (Joshi, 1998). Based on traditional gender roles
women might receive a lower wage because they invest less time in acquiring
skill in anticipation of staying home to raise children. The conventional
model suggests that the opportunity cost of men leaving the workforce is
higher than that of women. Therefore, according to this model it is more
advantageous and efficient for women to stay at home and raise the children
while the male serves as the breadwinner (Joshi, 1998).
In post-industrial literature, this view has been criticized. The emergence
of many lines of work with cross-gender skill sets makes specialization
according to gender less efficient (Joshi, 1998). According to this line
of thought, models of gender specific roles translates to suboptimal positions
in many cases and can affect the whole economy through lower levels of training
and the underutilization of human capital. Additionally, the conventional
model relies upon the continued partnership within a marriage and does not
account for the effects of divorce or premature death. Without cross-gender
skill sets, under these special conditions the family would functioning
well below the optimal level in the absence of trade across specialties.
Evidence also suggests a strong link between changing gender roles and fertility.
As gender roles begin to evolve in many societies, women are increasingly
accepted into the labor force. With higher labor participation rates among
women, levels of total fertility significantly decrease (Joshi, 1998). In
households with dual earners the family is able to compensate for having
two labor force participants by adjusting the stereotypical roles of gender
in domestic work (Joshi, 1998). Changing gender roles may begin to reconcile
the divide between efficiency and equity across genders.
Trends in the Work-Family Balance
Recent data has detected a dramatic change in the labor force participation
rate, indicating a rapidly increasing number of women entering the workplace.
In addition, the number of women with dependent children has accounted for
a large portion of this increase (Ruhm, 2004). There has also been a significant
increase in the number of single-parent households. Balancing these changes
are two additional trends. First, while labor force participation has been
increasing, fertility rates have been falling. Second, women now spend less
time on domestic work such as household cleaning than has previously been
the norm (Ruhm, 2004).
All these changes have an effect on the ability of women to balance their
roles as both a mother and a breadwinner. Increased participation in the
labor force means that women are spending less time at home. For women with
children, the decision to enter the labor force implies not only that the
mother will not be able to spend as much time with her children, but also
that she must look for alternatives for childcare (Ruhm, 2004). The cost
of childcare can be astronomical, especially in proportion to the total
income of low-wage earners. Men must also spend more time performing traditionally
domestic and female activities. These effects of increased labor force participation
among women are mitigated by the decrease in time spent on housework; however,
this decrease in time spent on domestic activities does not make up for
the increased time spent away from the home. Additional challenges are presented
in single-parent households where the wage earner is also responsible for
all childcare and domestic activities. In single-parent homes there is no
means of sharing the burden (Ruhm, 2004).
Balancing work life with family life is no doubt a challenge. While increased
participation in the workforce by women has led to decreased fertility rates,
there still exists a large gap between the time a working woman has to devote
to childrearing and the time she has dispensable. Finding a balance between
raising children and increasing household income is difficult. Families,
employers and governments have changed habits and implemented policies in
an attempt to resolve this conflict.
Maternity Leave and Fertility
In an attempt to mitigate the adverse effects of women entering the workforce,
governments and employers have enacted policies targeted at giving women
increased flexibility. A common policy is the availability of benefits such
as maternity or family leave. This policy gives a woman a set period of
time around the birth of a child to perform childcare activities without
the fear of losing her job. The merits of such policies have been debated.
While this policy does provide job security for a woman, potentially decreasing
the cost of childbearing, the policies can increase costs for employers
as they must ensure the availability of temporary workers or otherwise compensate
for the temporary loss of an employee. It has also been suggested that the
availability of maternity leave will affect the fertility decisions of women
(Averett and Whittington, 2001). The presence of a maternity leave policy
has the potential to greatly impact both the economy and fertility rates.
When firms chose to offer maternity leave or unequal government policies
mandate that some firms offer maternity leave while others are exempt two
main issues arise (Averett and Whittington, 2001). First, maternity policies
may attract female employees from firms where the benefit is unavailable.
Second, the implementation of a maternity leave policy might induce women
to have more births.
The exploration of the decision of women to self-select into firms that
offer maternity leave benefits indicates that although the option is available
women do not tend to choose a work environment based upon the desire to
have children and the presence of maternity leave benefits (Averett and
Whittington, 2001).
Models suggest that a wide-spread policy that would grant maternity leave
benefits would increase the fertility rate of women with at least one child
(Averett and Whittington, 2001). Women of child bearing age are likely to
be affected by the presence of a maternity leave policy especially if they
have previously had children. However, when this result is combined with
the finding that the increased labor force participation rate leads to fewer
births, there is essentially no change in the total fertility rate (Averett
and Whittington, 2001).
Case Study: U.S. and Europe
The United States lags behind nearly all other developed countries in the
availability of maternity leave and job security for new mothers (Ruhm,
2004). Recent legislation in the United States labor market is characterized
by limited paid leave and little child care support. However, the private
and government granted maternity benefits more common in Europe may not
be the proper solution for the United States. Americans benefit from the
tradeoff between work and family as it leads to higher total incomes. Likewise,
the United States exhibits a high reliance on free markets and limits the
intervention of government in market affairs (Ruhm, 2004).
However, evidence from Europe and other developed regions of the world suggest
that mandatory maternity leave can improve the health of the child and can
lead to other benefits. There is mixed evidence about the likelihood that
this model would work in the United States as the presence of maternity
leave and lead to market failure through asymmetric information or if children
are viewed as public goods (Ruhm, 2004).
Past Policy and the Future
There have been several reforms to government and employer policy in the
United States that has affected the work-family balance amongst women. Changes
in the Earned Income Tax Credit policy has helped to fuel the increase in
the labor force participation rate among women, especially those with children
(Ruhm, 2004). Welfare reform has also pressured single mothers to find employment
or face losing benefits. This increases the number of children that go without
proper childcare and further stresses the work-family balance for mothers
(Ruhm, 2004).
The adoption of the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 required that firms
and government agencies over a certain size offer maternity leave benefits,
increasing the job security of working mothers (Averett and Whittington,
2001). However, under this policy maternity leave is unpaid therefore causing
many women to return to the workforce before the allotted time expires.
Given the relative failure of these policies in the United States, it is
necessary to uncover policies that might make the tradeoff between work
and family less difficult. As aforementioned, maternity leave policies can
be costly and may spur increases in fertility. While it is important to
offer women time away from work to spend with children, perhaps it is most
important to investigate alternative childcare options, such as onsite child
care that would allow women to continue working, but assure that children
receive many of the benefits of having a mother stay at home.
Conclusion
Historically, gender roles and stereotypes have pressured women to take
a more domestic role, often staying in the home to care for children and
household chores. However, societal changes and the desire for higher incomes
have led more women to join the labor force. This increased labor force
participation rate has led to lower fertility rates, but it has also strained
the work-family balance among women.
This paper investigated policies that attempt to bridge the gap between
family time and work for women. Maternity leave has been suggested as a
way to give women more time with children immediately post-birth. However,
this policy does not go far enough to help new mothers and may even spur
more births. New policies that directly address child care options must
be investigated.
Averett, Susan L.; Whittington, Leslie A. (2001), "Does Maternity Leave Induce Births?", Southern Economic Journal v68, n2 (October 2001): 403-417.
Joshi, Heather (1998), "The Opportunity Costs of Childbearing: More Than Mothers' Business", Journal of Population Economics v11, n2 (May 1998): 161-183.
Ruhm, Christopher J., (2004), "How Well Do Parents with Young Children Combine Work and Family Life?", NBER Working Paper 10247.