Employment and the Life Course: Birth Cohort Differences of Young Australian Women

Abstract

This chapter examines trends in female employment in Australia using the detailed education, relationship, fertility and work history of respondents from the first four waves of the Negotiating the Life Course project. The work history data provide information about respondents’ employment status in each year from the age of 15 years to the survey year. Focusing on females, changes in education, fertility and relationship formation for ages 15–40, are explored for women born in the 1940s through to those born in the 1960s and 1970s. This information is then used to examine how these changes relate to employment trends. The analyses show that women are spending longer in study, resulting in higher levels of education, and delays in entry to full-time employment. Significant changes in patterns of relationship formation and fertility are also apparent, especially at the younger ages. Overall, trends in employment participation from earlier to more recent birth cohorts were affected by the extended time in full-time study (reducing employment rates during those years of study), complemented by higher education levels and the reduced amount of time spent with children (increasing employment rates).