This research acknowledges the importance of the labor market structure in determining the relationship between female employment and childbearing. The labor market structure used in this research is a modification of a framework presented in Edwards (1979). There are two dimensions in the framework; (1) occupations and (2) systems of control or industries. The industrial segments can be distinguished on the basis of schedule flexibility, the presence of fringe benefits, work hierarchies, and work activities. The differences across occupational segments are primarily based on level of expertise, ease of entry and exit, work commitment, and human capital investment. Data from the U.S. Survey of Income and Education conducted in 1976 are used to test the impact of the labor market structure on the female employment and childbearing relationship. All of the women studied are currently married with husbands present, 18-35 years of age, and employed in 1975. The dependent variable is a dichotomy with the presence of a child less than one year of age in the household coded 1. A probit estimation technique is used to determine the hypothesized effects. The impact of the labor market structure on the female employment and childbearing relationship is estimated using two analytical approaches. In the first approach, the location of women in each labor market segment is treated as a proxy for the female employment experience. In the second analytical approach, the labor market segment is treated as a contextual effect. Based on the results in both analytical approaches, the simple independent primary, the bureaucratic secondary, the technical secondary, the bureaucratic independent primary, and the technical subordinate primary segments appeared to accommodate childbearing and rearing to a greater extent than the other labor market segments. The flexibility of work / schedules as well as the generosity of the fringe benefit packages were believed to be contributors to the variation in effects across labor market segments. It was suggested that weeks worked is an appropriate employment feature to adjust if the accommodation of childbearing and rearing among employed females is a desirable outcome. This research indicates that female employment and childbearing and rearing can be compatible if the appropriate resources and services are present. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, Section: A, page: 1935. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75101 |
| Contributors | FALCONER, MARY KAY., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 201 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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