Couples’ transition to parenthood and labour market outcomes: Analysing gender inequalities and career interactions in Austria (CoPLAN)

Client/Funding Institution

Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften

Abstract

This project applies a family perspective to assess gender inequalities in the Austrian labour market. It employs detailed individual-level register data to trace couples and investigate within-family drivers of labour market inequalities, including those related to parenthood. By doing so, it focuses on several core within-family disparities – the gendered division of paid work, diverging career paths and wage dynamic, within-couple income inequalities – in the transition to parenthood. Women faring worse than men in the labour market is a consistent finding across empirical studies, closely related to family structure and typically attributed to their different family roles and responsibilities. Marriage and children represent obligations that limit women’s advancement, whereas for men, they tend to represent assets that benefit their careers. Parenthood tends to magnify existing gender gaps in wages and career progression, as maternal wage and career penalties remain strong. The project focuses on the role of different within-couple parental leave arrangements in subsequent career and wage developments of both spouses and within-couple income inequalities. This project is the first to provide a comprehensive registry data-based analysis of the dynamics of gender inequalities upon transition to parenthood in Austria, where parental leave policies have moved towards greater equality and equity, yet gender gaps in wages and work hours remain second highest in Europe.

Duration

July 2025 - June 2027

wiiw team Leader

Maryna Tverdostup

wiiw Staff

Sandra M. Leitner, Sebastian Leitner, Maryna Tverdostup, Stella Sophie Zilian

Countries covered: Austria

Research Areas: Labour, Migration and Income Distribution

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