Abstract
Orientation: Marriage formalises gender roles in society and as such has a significant impact on the labour force. The institution does, however, change over time, which makes it important to continually assess the impact that it has.Research purpose: In this article, the impact of marital status on employment is gauged.Motivation for the study: Marriage is arguably one of the most engrained institutions in modern society. Understanding the link between the marriage institution and employment could be essential in understanding the social and economic externalities that policy could have.Research design, approach and method: Logistic regressions are used to analyse what the relationship between different marital statuses and employment is.Main findings: The findings show that women are least likely to be employed when they are married, whereas men are most likely to be employed when they are married.Practical/managerial implications: Marriage clearly influences the labour market outcomes of women differently than those of men. This is an important certitude, especially for policy-makers who have to consider how their policies will differently affect men and women, and thereby how those policies will either work against or for gender equality.Contribution/value-add: This article attempts to uncover the link between marital status and employment in South Africa and thereby realise the potential implications of changes in marriage patterns on employment patterns.
Highlights
Marriage as an institution has witnessed large changes in the recent past, and South Africa is no exception to this
Along with this decrease in marriage rates, there has been a trend towards greater female labour force participation and employment has increased across the world, including in the developing world
These working conditions should be considered when investigating the employment of women, especially when focusing on marriage rates, as it lowers the incentive for women to enter the labour market if they know that the employment opportunities available to them are not as good as what their husband’s opportunities are
Summary
Marriage as an institution has witnessed large changes in the recent past, and South Africa is no exception to this. Various other studies on this contraction of the marital institution were conducted in the South African case (see, e.g., studies by Moore & Govender 2013; Posel & Casale 2009; Posel, Rudwick & Casale 2011; Posel & Casale 2013; Posel & Rudwick 2013) These studies provide much insight into the reason for this decreasing trend in marital status, but very little to no analysis of the impact that this trend will have on other economic outcomes (such as employment trends) is provided. It is here that this article aims to make its contribution, by analysing the impact that marital status can have on employment trends Along with this decrease in marriage rates, there has been a trend towards greater female labour force participation and employment has increased across the world, including in the developing world. Studies concerning the labour supply of women often involve the inclusion of a marital status or rate variable because of the important role it plays in influencing women’s behaviour and outcomes in the labour market (Hamid 1991; Muller & Posel 2008; Ntuli 2007a, 2007b; Yakubu 2010)
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