European Sociological Review Advance Access published online on July 10, 2008
European Sociological Review, doi:10.1093/esr/jcn030
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Just Like Mom? The Intergenerational Reproduction of Women's Paid Work
Pearl A. Dykstra, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, PO Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 70 356 52 00; Fax: +31 70 364 71 87; Email: dykstra{at}nidi.nl
Joop J. Schippers, Utrecht School of Economics, Utrecht University, Janskerkhof 12, 3512 BL Utrecht. Tel: +31 30 253 98 00; Fax +31 30 253 73 73; Email: j.schippers{at}econ.uu.nl
Correspondence: Anne E. van Putten (to whom correspondence should be addressed), Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, PO Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 70 356 52 00; Fax: +31 70 364 71 87; Email: putten{at}nidi.nl
Given the increasing female labour force participation rates in recent decades, the question arises as to whether the daughters of working mothers show different job patterns than the daughters of homemakers. Using data from a sample of 3,169 adult women in the 2002–2004 wave of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, we find that women who were raised by a working mother work about two more hours per week than those raised by a homemaking mother. The likelihood that women are currently in the labour market is not affected by their mother's past labour force participation. Women's own educational achievement and the presence of children younger than 12 are the strongest determinants of their participation and work hours. Our findings add to the growing evidence that parental behaviours during childhood have long-reaching consequences for children's behaviours, also in the realm of paid work. This provides a useful explanation for the persisting gender gap in work hours across Europe, in addition to the conventional explanations of education, occupational history and family formation.
Manuscript received: May 1, 2006.