Career Break Research Articles

Fertility Cost, Intergenerational Labor Division, and Female Employment

This paper considers the role of grandparental childcare in China’s extraordinarily high female labor-market participation rate. Indeed, the high female labor-market participation and low labor-income penalty for childbirth is all the more remarkable given the lack of public subsidies for childcare. Using a novel and high-quality dataset, we find that childcare provided by retired grandparents significantly reduces the duration of career breaks for young women and helps women remain in the labor force. We further show that well-educated urban women benefit most from grandparental childcare, especially in the first three years of the child’s life before there is a possibility to enter kindergarten.

Bullied Out of Position: Black Women’s Complex Intersectionality, Workplace Bullying, and Resulting Career Disruption

Bullied Out of Position: Black Women’s Complex Intersectionality, Workplace Bullying, and Resulting Career Disruption

Fathers’ Realizations of Parental Leave Plans: Leadership Responsibility as Help or Hindrance?

The present study investigates how fathers realized their parental leave plans with particular consideration of fathers’ leadership responsibility as a potential hindrance. Applying the social cognitive model of career self-management, we expected that fathers with leadership responsibility and those who perceive that they could lose qualifications resulting from a career break would plan shorter leaves before childbirth. Furthermore, self-efficacy beliefs were assumed to be supportive and leadership responsibility to be hindering factors in the final realization of leave plans (after childbirth). A sample of 147 men from Germany, Austria and Switzerland (33% with leadership responsibility) participated in a longitudinal questionnaire study (first measurement before childbirth). Results confirmed that men who expected a loss of qualifications planned shorter leaves. Planned leave length was positively correlated with the actual leave taken. Although leadership responsibility did not predict leave plans in the first place, it had an impact on the realization of leave plans: Fathers without leadership responsibility were more likely to realize their leaves than were fathers with leadership responsibility. Remarkably, men with leadership responsibility shortened their leaves as often as extended it. Self-efficacy beliefs were neither predictive of leave plans nor of realizing them. Our research highlights the importance of organizational support for men in their parental leave planning and realization.

Learning processes and learning problems in German postgraduate medical education.

Objective: In order to evaluate the quality of postgraduate medical education in Germany, we examined how the learning of theoretical and practical competencies is conceptualized and how the learning process takes place in real terms. The training conditions, as perceived by medical residents, are compared with the learning objectives, as stated by the Federal Chamber of Physicians in its regulation on postgraduate education. The analysis is based on the data of the “KarMed” study (abbreviation of "career progression and career breaks among physicians during postgraduate education"), a multicentre cohort study of medical school graduates from seven universities who arre followed until they receive their licenses as specialist physicians. The study was conducted by the Institute of Primary Medical Care of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf starting in 2008.Methodology: The KarMed study is based on annual, standardized surveys of the population described above. 48% responded in the initial survey (n=1012) and 85% or more in each of the following surveys. Descriptive statistics and logistical regressions were used for analysis. Gender-specific analyses were performed where possible in order to highlight the differences in the professional objectives and workloads between female and male physicians. Results: The study shows that both the practical and the theoretical components of postgraduate medical education in Germany are insufficient. There is a lack of a curriculum with precise learning objectives and descriptions of the corresponding educational settings. In fact, the act of learning is identical to daily clinical work. There is no structuring of the work process with regard to learning; for example, documentation procedures and feedback discussions are prescribed but largely omitted. Evidence-based medicine is not a systematic part of the training, nor is the evaluation of residents’ progress. The summative final oral examination pretends that the necessary specialist competencies can be evaluated within 30 minutes.Many factors indicate that female doctors, especially those with children, have fewer learning opportunities than male doctors.Conclusion: The quality of postgraduate medical education in Germany has become inadequate, especially in an international comparison. The deficits are well known. The responsible institutions are called upon to implement sustainable reforms in the sense of postgraduate education that is structured according to educational principles and whose quality is assured.

중년여성의 경력단절에서 학습참가까지의 진로준비과정 경험 연구

중년여성의 경력단절에서 학습참가까지의 진로준비과정 경험 연구

Do work and family care histories predict health in older women?

BackgroundSocial and policy changes in the last several decades have increased women’s options for combining paid work with family care. We explored whether specific combinations of work and family care over the lifecourse are associated with variations in women’s later life health. MethodsWe used sequence analysis to group women in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing according to their work histories and fertility. Using logistic regression, we tested for group differences in later life disability, depressive symptomology and mortality, while controlling for childhood health and socioeconomic position and a range of adult socio-economic circumstances and health behaviours. ResultsWomen who transitioned from family care to either part-time work after a short break from the labour force, or to full-time work, reported lower odds of having a disability compared with the reference group of women with children who were mostly employed full-time throughout. Women who shifted from family care to part-time work after a long career break had lower odds of mortality than the reference group. Depressive symptoms were not associated with women’s work and family care histories. ConclusionWomen’s work histories are predictive of their later life disability and mortality. This relationship may be useful in targeting interventions aimed at improving later life health. Further research is necessary to explore the mechanisms linking certain work histories to poorer later life health and to design interventions for those affected.

A Study on highly educated women’s Retirement and Career Interruption in their 30s

A Study on highly educated women’s Retirement and Career Interruption in their 30s

기혼여성의 경력단절 여부와 시간선택제 일자리정책의 효과성 인식: 시간선택제 일자리 이용경험을 중심으로

기혼여성의 경력단절 여부와 시간선택제 일자리정책의 효과성 인식: 시간선택제 일자리 이용경험을 중심으로

Is there a motherhood penalty in retirement income in Europe? The role of lifecourse and institutional characteristics

ABSTRACTThis study examines the retirement income of women in Europe, focusing on the effect of motherhood. Due to their more interrupted working careers compared to non-mothers and fathers, mothers are likely to accumulate fewer pension entitlements, and consequently, to receive lower incomes in later life. However, pension systems in Europe vary widely in the degree to which they compensate for care-related career interruptions by means of redistributive elements or pension care entitlements. Therefore, care interruptions may matter for the retirement income of women in some countries, but may be rather irrelevant in others. On the basis of life history data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARELIFE) for women aged between 60 and 75 years in 13 European countries, the interplay of individual lifecourse characteristics with institutional and structural factors is examined. The results show that the lower retirement income of mothers is mainly a result of fewer years in employment and lower-status jobs throughout the lifecourse. The analysis of institutional factors reveals that pension care entitlements are not able to provide a compensation for care-related cutbacks in working life. A generally redistributive design of the pension system including basic or targeted pension schemes, in contrast, appears as an effective measure to balance differences in employment participation over the lifecourse.

Impact of parenthood on women’s careers in the IT sector – a study in the Indian context

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of certain factors (such as working mothers’ attitudes towards career role salience, notion of career success, work-life balance and the impact of organisational support systems available for childcare) on career persistence, despite parenthood, and career re-entry after parenthood. It is conducted in relation to new age, young working mothers of the booming IT sector in India.Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire was administered to 138 working mothers in the IT sector to analyse the impact of working mothers’ career role salience, notion of career success, work-life balance and the impact of organisational support systems available for childcare on career persistence, despite parenthood.FindingsThe findings state that re-entry is also a growing phenomenon, in as much as career breaks are an accepted reality. Career role salience and notions of career success are important predictors of career re-entry of young mothers. Most importantly, this study highlights the significant role of the trusted, extended family support system, that is characteristically unique to Indian social fabric, in enabling women’s career persistence and career re-entry after motherhood.Research limitations/implicationsLike most survey research, this study’s validity is also limited to the findings on the self-reported responses. Nevertheless, the study points to new areas to be researched, such as the possibility of the same findings with older mothers who have spent considerable years in their careers, or whether the same sample would answer differently after a few years.Practical implicationsThe paper includes implications for society and organisations, concerning opting out, and for undertaking genuine initiatives to enable and support women to re-enter their careers after breaks, so that the decision to persist, exit or re-enter their careers remains the privileged choice of women employees.Originality/valueThe paper fulfils an identified need to study how parenthood affects women’s careers in the IT sector and need for organisations in India to understand the practicality of women employees’ needs to integrate work and life.

Investment and interruption: effects of the US experience on the earnings of return migrants in Mexico

ABSTRACTMigration is widely viewed as an investment in human capital. However, due to the imperfect transferability of skills and knowledge across countries, migration trips are also career interruptions, especially for return migrants who may meanwhile experience depreciation of home country-specific skills. This article demonstrates that migration experience increases return migrants’ earnings in the home country on the condition that the migration stay is sufficiently long and mostly uninterrupted. Employing the revised human capital earnings function, the empirical study shows that only a barely interrupted US experience longer than five years, regardless of the legal status of the migration trips, predicts higher earnings of male return migrants in Mexico than comparable non-migrants. Robust findings emerge controlling for unobserved individual \\]acteristics or using instrumental variables to deal with the self-selection and endogeneity. Short migration stays in the US and frequent traveling provide return migrants no wage premium in Mexico.

THE ECONOMIC AND CAREER EFFECTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON WORKING WOMEN.

Many working women will experience sexual harassment at some point in their careers. While some report this harassment, many leave their jobs to escape the harassing environment. This mixed-methods study examines whether sexual harassment and subsequent career disruption affect women's careers. Using in-depth interviews and longitudinal survey data from the Youth Development Study, we examine the effect of sexual harassment for women in the early career. We find that sexual harassment increases financial stress, largely by precipitating job change, and can significantly alter women's career attainment.

The Mediating Effect of Outcome Expectation on the Relationship between the Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy and the Career Planning of Career Interrupted Women

본 연구의 목적은 경력단절 여성의 진로결정 자기효능감과 경력계획의 관계에서 결과기대의 매개효과를 확인하고자 하는 것이다. 이러한 연구목적에 따라 부산·경남지역에 소재한 여성인력개발센터에서 직업교육과 상담에 참여하고 있고, 취업의사가 있는 경력단절 여성 270명을 대상으로 진로결정 자기효능감, 결과기대, 경력계획 척도를 활용하여 자료를 수집하였다. 그리고 수집된 자료는 회귀분석방법으로 매개효과를 분석하였으며, 이에 대한 연구결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 경력단절 여성의 진로결정 자기효능감, 결과기대, 경력계획은 정적상관이 있는 것으로 확인되었다. 둘째, 경력단절 여성의 진로결정 자기효능감과 경력계획의 관계에서 결과기대의 매개효과는 통계적으로 유의미한 것으로 확인되었다. 그리고 마지막으로 본 연구결과에 기초하여 연구의 의의와 경력단절 여성의 경력개발을 위한 교육적 제언을 하였다. 본 연구는 이후 경력단절 여성의 경력개발을 위한 교육 및 상담에 의미 있는 기초자료로 활용될 것으로 기대된다.The present study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of outcome expectation on the relationship between the career decision-making self-efficacy and the career planning of career interrupted women. Survey data were collected from 270 career interrupted women. To examine the mediating effect, the hierarchical regression analysis had been done according to the procedure suggested by Baron and Kenny(1986). The results of data analysis were summarized as follow: First, the career decision-making self-efficacy, the outcome expectation, and the career planning scores from the career interrupted women showed positive correlations. Second, the result of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that the outcome expectation partially mediated the relationship between the career decision-making self-efficacy and the career planning of career interrupted women. The current results imply that the level of outcome expectation is important for the career counseling for career interrupted women in practice and future research.

Caregiving responsibilities for a child, spouse or parent: The impact of care recipient independence on employee well-being

An important non-work role involves the provision of informal, unpaid care to family and friends who have a disability or who are aged. In this study we explored the effects of different levels of care recipient independence on caregiver well-being. We predicted that care recipient independence would affect caregiver well-being and that this effect would be sequentially mediated by caregiver career disruption and underemployment. We also proposed that the effect of care recipient independence would be moderated by the workplace and out-of-workplace support available to the caregiver. In a survey of employees with unpaid non-work caregiving responsibilities our hypothesis concerning the mediating role of caregiver career disruption and underemployment was supported. We also found the predicted effect for the moderation hypothesis concerning care recipient independence and workplace support. Employees who cared for people with low independence experienced greater career disruption when they received limited workplace support – and this career disruption flowed through to lower caregiver well-being.

Wage differentials after a career break: A latent growth model on Belgian register data

This article analyses income differentials after re-entry into the labour market between people who have had a career break and people who have not by applying latent growth modelling to a sample of longitudinal register data. The results suggest that when comparing the incomes of those who return from a break with those who did not have a break there are significant initial income differences to the disadvantage of the former. Moreover, the income differentials between men were greater than those between women. In addition, significant additional income growth was found after the break for women but not for men. The evidence suggests that such leave is more socially acceptable for women but leads to significant negative income differentials among men.

Quitting patient care and career break intentions among general practitioners in South West England: findings of a census survey of general practitioners

ObjectiveGiven recent concerns regarding general practitioner (GP) workforce capacity, we aimed to describe GPs’ career intentions, especially those which might impact on GP workforce availability over the next 5 years.DesignCensus...

An Analysis on the Wage Loss of Career Interruption Using Propensity Score Matching

An Analysis on the Wage Loss of Career Interruption Using Propensity Score Matching

Barriers to the Professional Development of Qualified Women in the Peruvian Construction Industry

The construction industry frequently offers an unwelcoming environment for women, and those who do manage to enter have high rates of turnover and abandonment. Within this scenario, this research aims to identify the barriers faced by qualified women, to analyze the different views that qualified men and women have regarding these barriers, and to find the underlying factors that group these barriers and their degrees of importance. In the context of this research, “qualified” men and women are those who hold a university degree (in construction-related areas). Initially, 20 barriers were identified analyzing previous contributions. These barriers composed the statements of the questionnaire survey; data were obtained from 429 professionals in the Peruvian construction industry. It was found that women face invisible barriers throughout their careers and have fewer professional opportunities than men. The main perceptual dissimilarities between men and women indicate that men interpret womanhood as a form of positive discrimination, which, far from being a professional barrier, is considered an advantage by them. Likewise, women agree that if they take maternity leave, they will suffer a loss in the hierarchical order; furthermore, the industry does not have flexible work schedules, childcare programs, or provisions for career breaks. Five underlying factors were extracted from the analysis: “male oriented labor market,” “detrimental issues for being a woman,” “harsh working conditions in the construction industry,” “unfavorable perception of the construction industry,” and “high competitiveness of the construction industry.”

Analysis of Career Interrupted Female Baby Boomer’s Return to the Workforces

Analysis of Career Interrupted Female Baby Boomer’s Return to the Workforces

Precarious employment among South Korean women: Is inequality changing with time?

AbstractTheories of precarious employment based on the constructs of job quality and job stability have highlighted the issue of transitions, linked to gender and age, from long-duration employment in bad-quality jobs, into good-quality stable employment. This article uses Markov chain analysis to study the labour market transitions of South Korean women in different age groups. It shows the importance of differentiating the effects of contemporary labour market conditions, shaped by the forces of the moment, from conditions created by the institutional legacy of the past. Women’s traditional position in the labour market has resulted in age-linked gendered precariousness, while the conditions of the moment are generating a tendency towards less precarious employment. Transition matrices are developed for types of precarious employment defined by the combination of job stability and job quality, taking into account duration by age group, time period, and covariates. These matrices yield distributions of asymptotic prevalence, reflecting labour market conditions of the moment. The forces of the moment favour the predominance of stable good-quality employment, whereas observed prevalence at a given date is characterised by the polarisation of the labour market between stable good-quality and unstable bad-quality employment. Asymptotic prevalence reveals a steady increase in stable but bad-quality employment. Older women are observed mostly in unstable bad-quality employment, but labour market conditions are tending to attenuate this age cleavage over time, as the conditions of the moment are reducing the proportions of older women in stable bad-quality and unstable good-quality employment. The conclusion is an age-based polarisation, in which older women are faring badly, but where possibilities are now opening up to younger South Korean women, reflected in the sharp break between the situation inherited from the past and the conditions of the moment. But possibilities for younger women will be realised only through a reinforcement of government policies to support career breaks and work–family balance through decent part-time jobs.