How does the number of children affect female participation in the labour market? A cross-national analysis of EU Countries

Abstract

This paper assesses the effect of the number of children on female participation in the labor market, while controlling for female educational attainment and welfare policies. Even if relevant progresses have been made during the last decades, the analysis reveals that a remarkable and embedded gap in the traditional division of gender roles still exists. Through a cross-section and crossnational analysis of the European Union countries’ data, the paper explores, the relation between the number of children and female employment rate both at aggregated and disaggregated levels. The results of both analyses confirm that while having children does negatively affect females’ employment, the negative effect is counterbalanced by the level of education.