Constrained ‘choices’ : optional familism and educational divides in work-family arrangements

Abstract

German family policy was dramatically reformed in the 2000s because of dual reforms to parental leave and childcare provision. While considerable evidence has suggested the reforms affected employment and other outcomes, this article asks what the consequences of these reforms are for the family, specifically for patterns of work-family arrangements. Moreover, it asks how education matters for work-family arrangements post-reform. Using German Socio-Economic Panel data, I show that college-educated mothers giving birth to their first child after the reforms earned roughly half of household income if they benefited from expanded local childcare access. By contrast, in areas with lower childcare availability, even among the college-educated, mothers' earnings resemble pre-reform patterns, where mothers earn between a quarter to a third of household income. Therefore, the reforms contributed to greater differences in family structures based on the education. One interpretation of these findings is that the status reproducing nature of the Continental welfare states has recalibrated for the modern age, de-gendered for those with the greatest labour market returns.