IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/woemps/v22y2008i4p655-674.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Preference or constraint? Part-time workers' transitions in Denmark, France and the United Kingdom

Author

Listed:
  • Vanessa Gash

    (University of Manchester, vanessa.gash@manchester.ac.uk)

Abstract

This article investigates whether women work part-time through preference or constraint and argues that different countries provide different opportunities for preference attainment. It argues that women with family responsibilities are unlikely to have their working preferences met without national policies supportive of maternal employment. Using event history analysis the article tracks part-time workers' transitions to both full-time employment and to labour market drop-out.The article compares the outcome of workers in the UK, a country with little support for maternal employment, relative to Denmark and France, two countries with a long history of facilitating workers' engagement in both paid employment and family life. It finds evidence of part-time constraint in the UK relative to the other two countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Vanessa Gash, 2008. "Preference or constraint? Part-time workers' transitions in Denmark, France and the United Kingdom," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(4), pages 655-674, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:22:y:2008:i:4:p:655-674
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017008096741
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0950017008096741
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0950017008096741?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barbara Petrongolo, 2004. "Gender Segregation in Employment Contracts," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 2(2-3), pages 331-345, 04/05.
    2. Herbert A. Simon, 1955. "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 69(1), pages 99-118.
    3. René Böheim & Mark P. Taylor, 2004. "Actual and Preferred Working Hours," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(1), pages 149-166, March.
    4. Florence Jaumotte, 2003. "Female Labour Force Participation: Past Trends and Main Determinants in OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 376, OECD Publishing.
    5. Philip J. O'Connell & Vanessa Gash, 2003. "The Effects of Working Time, Segmentation and Labour Market Mobility on Wages and Pensions in Ireland," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 41(1), pages 71-95, March.
    6. Jill Rubery & Mark Smith & Dominique Anxo & Lennart Flood, 2001. "The Future European Labor Supply: The Critical Role of the Family," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 33-69.
    7. Jacqueline O'Reilly & Silke Bothfeld, 2002. "What happens after working part time? Integration, maintenance or exclusionary transitions in Britain and western Germany," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 26(4), pages 409-439, July.
    8. Bardasi, Elena & C. Gornick, Janet, 2000. "Women and part-time employment: workers’ ‘choices’ and wage penalties in five industrialized countries," ISER Working Paper Series 2000-11, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    9. Tarja K. Viitanen, 2005. "Cost of Childcare and Female Employment in the UK," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 19(s1), pages 149-170, December.
    10. Nicole M Fortin, 2005. "Gender Role Attitudes and the Labour-market Outcomes of Women across OECD Countries," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 21(3), pages 416-438, Autumn.
    11. Elena Bardasi, 2000. "Women and Part-Time Employment: Workers ""Choices"" and Wage Penalties in Five Industrialized Countries," LIS Working papers 223, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    12. Bénédicte Galtier, 1999. "Les temps partiels : entre emplois choisis et emplois "faute de mieux"," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 321(1), pages 57-77.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gianluca Busilacchi & Giovanni Gallo & Matteo Luppi, 2022. "I would like to but I cannot. The determinants of involuntary part-time employment: Evidence from Italy," Center for the Analysis of Public Policies (CAPP) 0177, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    2. Schober, Pia & Scott, Jacqueline, 2012. "Maternal Employment and Gender Role Attitudes: Dissonance Among British Men and Women in the Transition to Parenthood," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 26(3), pages 514-530.
    3. O’Sullivan Maeve & Cross Christine & Lavelle Jonathan, 2020. "The forgotten labour force: Characteristics and trends for older female part-time workers in Ireland," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 39(1), pages 47-60, August.
    4. Frédéric SALLADARRÉ & Stéphane HLAIMI, 2014. "Women and part-time work in Europe," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(2), pages 293-310, June.
    5. Younga Kim, 2015. "Changes in Precarious Employment Among South Korean Women," Mathematical Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 101-123, June.
    6. Stuth, Stefan & Hennig, Marina & Allmendinger, Jutta, 2009. "Die Bedeutung des Berufs für die Dauer von Erwerbsunterbrechungen," Discussion Papers, Presidential Department P 2009-001, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    7. O’Sullivan Maeve & Cross Christine & Lavelle Jonathan, 2020. "The forgotten labour force: Characteristics and trends for older female part-time workers in Ireland," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 39(1), pages 47-60, August.
    8. Ragni Hege Kitterød & Marit Rønsen & AneSeierstad, 2011. "Mobilising female labour market reserves: What promotes women's transitions from part-time to full-time work?," Discussion Papers 658, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    9. Michail Veliziotis & Manos Matsaganis & Alexandros Karakitsios, 2015. "Involuntary part-time employment: perspectives from two European labour markets," ImPRovE Working Papers 15/02, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    10. Maeve O'Sullivan & Christine Cross & Jonathan Lavelle, 2021. "Good or bad jobs? Characteristics of older female part‐time work," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(5), pages 423-441, September.
    11. Haya Stier & Amit Kaplan, 2020. "Are Children a Joy or a Burden? Individual- and Macro-level Characteristics and the Perception of Children," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(2), pages 387-413, April.
    12. Nolan, Brian & Marx, Ive & Horemans, Jeroen, 2015. "Hanging in, but only just: Part-time employment and in-work poverty through the crisis," INET Oxford Working Papers 2015-04, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    13. Stefanie Kley & Sonja Drobnič, 2019. "Does moving for family nest-building inhibit mothers' labour force (re-)entry?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(7), pages 155-184.
    14. Jeroen Horemans & Ive Marx, 2013. "In-work poverty in times of crisis: do part-timers fare worse?," ImPRovE Working Papers 13/14, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    15. Patricia Lewis & Ruth Simpson, 2017. "Hakim Revisited: Preference, Choice and the Postfeminist Gender Regime," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 115-133, March.
    16. Ragni Hege Kitterød & Marit Rønsen & Ane Seierstad, 2011. "Working hours in dual-earner couples: Does one partner work less when the other works more?," Discussion Papers 670, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    17. Renzo Carriero & Lorenzo Todesco, 2018. "Housework division and gender ideology: When do attitudes really matter?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(39), pages 1039-1064.
    18. Jacobo Muñoz-Comet & Stephanie Steinmetz, 2020. "Trapped in Precariousness? Risks and Opportunities of Female Immigrants and Natives Transitioning from Part-Time Jobs in Spain," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(5), pages 749-768, October.
    19. Schmid, Günther & Protsch, Paula, 2009. "Wandel der Erwerbsformen in Deutschland und Europa," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Skill Formation and Labor Markets SP I 2009-505, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    20. Vanessa Gash, 2009. "Sacrificing Their Careers for Their Families? An Analysis of the Penalty to Motherhood in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 569-586, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fernández-Kranz, Daniel & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, 2011. "The part-time pay penalty in a segmented labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 591-606, October.
    2. Frédéric SALLADARRÉ & Stéphane HLAIMI, 2014. "Women and part-time work in Europe," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(2), pages 293-310, June.
    3. Vanessa Gash, 2009. "Sacrificing Their Careers for Their Families? An Analysis of the Penalty to Motherhood in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 93(3), pages 569-586, September.
    4. Akay, Alpaslan & Bargain, Olivier & Jara Tamayo, H. Xavier, 2023. "Experienced versus decision utility: large-scale comparison for income-leisure preferences," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117746, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Alan Manning & Barbara Petrongolo, 2005. "The Part-Time Pay Penalty," CEP Discussion Papers dp0679, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    6. Peter Muehlau, 2010. "Gender Inequality and Job quality in Europe," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp345, IIIS.
    7. Berniell, Inés & Berniell, Lucila & de la Mata, Dolores & Edo, María & Marchionni, Mariana, 2023. "Motherhood and flexible jobs: Evidence from Latin American countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    8. Síle O'Dorchai & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2007. "The part‐time wage penalty in European countries: how large is it for men?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(7), pages 571-603, October.
    9. Colella, Fabrizio, 2014. "Women's Part-Time - Full-Time Wage Differentials in Europe: an Endogenous Switching Model," MPRA Paper 55287, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Alpaslan Akay & Olivier Bargain & H. Xavier Jara, 2020. "‘Fair’ welfare comparisons with heterogeneous tastes: subjective versus revealed preferences," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 55(1), pages 51-84, June.
    11. Wolf, Elke, 2010. "Lohndifferenziale zwischen Vollzeit- und Teilzeitbeschäftigten in Ost- und Westdeutschland," WSI Working Papers 174, The Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Hans Böckler Foundation.
    12. Daniela Del Boca & Silvia Pasqua & Chiara Pronzato, 2005. "Fertility and Employment in Italy, France, and the UK," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 19(s1), pages 51-77, December.
    13. Angela Cipollone & Carlo D'Ippoliti, 2009. "Women's Employment: Beyond Individual Characteristics vs. Contextual Factors Explanations," Working Papers CELEG 0901, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza, LUISS Guido Carli.
    14. Wendy Sigle-Rushton & Jane Waldfogel, 2007. "Motherhood and women's earnings in Anglo-American, Continental European, and Nordic Countries," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 55-91.
    15. Alena Bičáková, 2016. "Gender unemployment gaps in the EU: blame the family," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-31, December.
    16. Aleksandra Matuszewska-Janica & Dorota Witkowska, 2021. "Differences between determinants of men and women monthly wages across fourteen European Union states," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 16(3), pages 503-531, September.
    17. Hielke Buddelmeyer & Gilles Mourre & Melanie Ward, 2008. "Why Europeans work part-time? A cross-country panel analysis," Research in Labor Economics, in: Work, Earnings and Other Aspects of the Employment Relation, pages 81-139, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    18. HU Yongjian & TIJDENS Kea, 2003. "Choices for part-time jobs and the impacts on the wage differentials. A comparative study for Great Britain and the Netherlands," IRISS Working Paper Series 2003-05, IRISS at CEPS/INSTEAD.
    19. Georg Wernhart & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2012. "Do Austrian men and women become more equal? At least in terms of labour supply!," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 39(1), pages 45-64, February.
    20. Ulrike Huemer & Kristina Budimir & Rainer Eppel, 2010. "Soziale Sicherungssysteme und Arbeitsmarktperformanz in der EU. Mikroökonometrische Analyse," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 41154, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:22:y:2008:i:4:p:655-674. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.