Working mothers in East and West Germany: a cluster analysis using a three-stage approach

Yvonne Ziegler,Vincenzo Uli,Kristine Khachatryan,Regine Graml

doi:10.1108/gm-10-2020-0318

Yvonne Ziegler, Vincenzo Uli + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1108/gm-10-2020-0318

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Abstract

PurposeThe second Frankfurt Career Study was conducted in 2017 in East and West Germany to analyze the impact of motherhood on female professional advancement in the specific national context of Germany. In addition, this study aims to present a unique perspective of the similarities and dissimilarities between the Western and Eastern parts of the country.Design/methodology/approachThe research is presented as a three-stage statistical approach based on quantitative data generated from a survey conducted among 2,130 working mothers. In the first step, the authors performed a multiple correspondence analysis to explore the relationships between important categorical variables. Using the object scores obtained in the first step, we then ran a hierarchical cluster analysis, followed by the third and last step: using the k-means clustering method to partition the survey respondents into groups.FindingsThe authors found that working mothers in Germany are distributed according to four clusters mainly described by demographics and orientation toward work. East Germany has been found as a more egalitarian context than West Germany with respect to family system arrangements. However, the upper bound of the sample in West Germany presented an atypical female breadwinner model in high-performance households.Originality/valueThe authors want to contribute to previous investigations on the topic by providing a more comprehensive view of the phenomenon, especially comparing the two different family systems and social norms from the Eastern and Western parts of the country. The authors ask whether and how career perspectives and female labor supply are influenced by drivers such as work–family conflict determinants, working mothers demographics, partner support and employer support.

Highlights

Germany is considered a prime example of a conservative welfare state that often translates into the “male breadwinner model” (Adema et al, 2017; Barnes, 2015; Baxter et al, 2008; Hochschild and Machung, 1990), with the man usually taking on the paid work and the woman shouldering the bulk of unpaid work at home, including childcare
Work–family conflict, demographics, partner support, employer support); in Section 3, we outline the methodology; in Section 4, we present the results obtained by using the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA); and, in Section 5, we promote a discussion on this subject by comparing our results with essential findings from previous works
The availability of daycare centers clearly plays a major role in labor market participation of mothers and, in Western Germany especially, it has been found that such participation is significantly reduced due to the lack of suitable childcare places (Büchel and Spieß, 2002)

Summary

Introduction

Germany is considered a prime example of a conservative welfare state that often translates into the “male breadwinner model” (Adema et al, 2017; Barnes, 2015; Baxter et al, 2008; Hochschild and Machung, 1990), with the man usually taking on the paid work and the woman shouldering the bulk of unpaid work at home, including childcare. The full terms of this licence maybe seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

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