Work and children in Spain: challenges and opportunities for equality between men and women

Hupkau, Claudia ORCID: 0000-0002-7545-3835 and Ruiz-Valenzuela, Jenifer ORCID: 0000-0002-7238-2074 (2022) Work and children in Spain: challenges and opportunities for equality between men and women. SERIEs, 13 (1-2). 243 - 268. ISSN 1869-4187

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Abstract

Over the past decades, Spain has seen a striking convergence between women’s and men’s participation in the labour market. However, this convergence has stalled since the early 2010s. We show that women still fare worse in several important labour market dimensions. Gender inequalities are further aggravated among people with children. Women with children under 16 are much more likely to be unemployed, work part-time or on temporary contracts than men with children of the same age. We show that it is unlikely that preferences alone can account for these gaps. A review of the evidence shows that family policies, such as paternity leave expansions, financial incentives in the form of tax credits for working mothers and subsidised or free childcare for very young children, could help reduce the motherhood penalty. However, such policies are likely to be more effective if combined with advances in breaking up traditional gender roles.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.springer.com/journal/13209
Additional Information:	© 2021 The Authors
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Date Deposited:	02 Nov 2021 12:27
Last Modified:	17 Apr 2024 17:09
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/112541

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