Temporal flexibility, breaks at work, and the motherhood wage gap

Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio, Molina, José Alberto and Sevilla, Almudena (2022) Temporal flexibility, breaks at work, and the motherhood wage gap. In: Molina, José Alberto, (ed.) Mothers in the Labor Market. Springer International (Firm), Cham, CH, 83 - 105. ISBN 9783030997793

Full text not available from this repository.

• Publisher
• Author

Abstract

We analyze the relationship between temporal flexibility at work (i.e., the ability to vary or change the time of beginning or ending work) and the motherhood wage gap of working parents, in the US. To that end, we first characterize temporal flexibility at work using the 2017–2018 Leave and Job Flexibilities (LJF) Module of the American Time Use Survey, which contains self-reported information on temporal flexibility at work. We find cross-occupation differences in the ability to vary or change work-times, with more than 70% of full-time workers having flexibility, in occupations such as computer and mathematical science, management, architecture, and engineering. Less than 40% of full-time workers in construction and extraction, education, training and library, or production have temporal flexibility at work. We examine the relationship between temporal flexibility and the gender gap among full-time working parents, using the American Time Use Survey for the years 2003–2019. Our analysis reveals that temporal flexibility has a U-shaped relationship with the wage rates of both fathers and mothers, and that temporal flexibility has a concave relationship with the motherhood wage gap, with a maximum being reached at the level of 55% of temporal flexibility. Our analysis of the structure of work hours reveals that temporal flexibility is reflected in how work hours are structured throughout the working day, and also serves as evidence that our measure of temporal flexibility captures the technologies of production, rather than the characteristics or motivations of a given company policy. This chapter posits temporal flexibility as a factor affecting the motherhood wage gap.

Item Type:	Book Section
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-9...
Additional Information:	© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J16 - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J22 - Time Allocation and Labor Supply J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J3 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs > J31 - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials by Skill, Training, Occupation, etc.
Date Deposited:	15 Mar 2024 18:54
Last Modified:	25 Oct 2024 01:33
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/122406

Actions (login required)

View Item