Publication
Title
Parental leave uptake among migrant and native mothers : can precarious employment trajectories account for the difference?
Author
Abstract
Family policies such as parental leave schemes increasingly support the workfamily balance. Low maternal employment in migrant populations raises questions on family policy uptake among mothers of migrant origin. This study documents differences in parental leave uptake between native and migrant mothers of different origin groups and generations, and assesses the extent to which precarious employment trajectories can account for these differentials. Using longitudinal data from Belgian social security registers, mixed-effects logit models of leave uptake, full-time or part-time leave uptake and the labour market position following leave are estimated for 10,976 mothers who entered parenthood between 2004 and 2010. Results indicate that uptake of parental leave is lower among mothers of migrant origin, since they fail to meet the eligibility criteria as a result of being overrepresented in unstable labour market positions. Whereas differential leave uptake can be accounted for by non-universal eligibility and precarious labour market trajectories, migrant-native differentials in part-time uptake and labour market positions following leave persist when controlling for pre-birth employment characteristics. The differential pattern of leave uptake among first-generation migrant women, in particular, is not explained by pre-birth employment characteristics, as they remain overrepresented in full-time leave, and first-generation mothers of non-European origin more frequently retreat from the labour force following leave. We conclude that difficult access to stable employment and non-universal eligibility are major factors explaining migrant-native differentials in parental leave use. As such, Belgian parental leave policies perpetuate labour market disadvantages by limiting support for workfamily reconciliation to those already established in the labour force.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Ethnicities. - London, 2001, currens
Publication
London : Sage , 2018
ISSN
1468-7968 [print]
1741-2706 [online]
DOI
10.1177/1468796817715292
Volume/pages
18 :1 (2018) , p. 106-141
ISI
000419946000006
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Work, living arrangements and social policy. An exploration of socio-economic differentials in family formation in Belgium using an administrative socio-demographic panel.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 12.07.2017
Last edited 09.10.2023
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