Distance between mothers and fathers in the labor market grows again

Despite registering progress over the last decade, the participation of women in the labor market remains far from that of men and is even more complicated for Brazilian women who are mothers, especially those with younger children.

“Despite the advances in female participation in the labor market, women still face many challenges”, points out the study by FGV Ibre (Brazilian Institute of Economics of Fundação Getulio Vargas). “These challenges grow substantially after the birth of children, as women spend, on average, more hours than men on household chores and caring for children and the elderly,” he adds.

The survey, led by economist Janaína Feijó, from FGV Ibre, in collaboration with researchers Valdemar Pinho Neto and Luísa Cardoso, goes from the fourth quarter of 2012 to the same interval of 2021, the most recent period with available data. The analysis involves only heterosexual couples, with or without children up to 18 years of age.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, the participation of women with children in the labor force was just over a third (36.4%), while that of men reached almost three quarters (73.6%).

Over the decade, this gap receded, reaching a difference of 31.5 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2019, on the eve of the pandemic.

With the effects of the health crisis, which destroyed jobs and paralyzed schools and day care centers, the gap increased again, but remained below the level of 2012.

The differential was 33.1 points in the fourth quarter of 2021, with participation rates of 38.4% for mothers and 71.5% for fathers. The gap, in the researchers’ assessment, remains significant.

The so-called gap is defined as the differential or gap between female and male participation rates, which correspond to the percentage of women or men in the labor force, in relation to the total number of women or men of working age (14 years or older). ).

The workforce is formed both by those who are occupied with a vacancy (formal or informal) and by those who are unemployed, that is, in active search for opportunities in the market.

“After maternity, the woman is often unable to return to the market or only returns when the child is a teenager. The point here is the existence of this gap”, says economist Janaína Feijó, a researcher at FGV Ibre.

“There was improvement over the decade, but it was not enough to change the picture. Some companies make efforts to be more friendly with mothers, opening the possibility of more flexible working hours. The new generations also understand more about the division of tasks between couples, but the gap is persistent”, he adds.

Ages of children and mothers impact trajectory

According to the analysis, the younger the child, the less likely the mother is to participate in the workforce.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, women with newborn children (less than one year of age) had participation 49.6 percentage points lower than that of men.

In the case of ten-year-old children, the difference between fathers and mothers was smaller, 26.3 percentage points.

In terms of children aged 18, the participation gap dropped to 22.8 percentage points between men and women.

“Children of preschool age (zero to five years) tend to need more care and demand more from mothers, so the age of the children matters for the trajectory and professional choices of women”, says the study.

“As the early childhood years go by, women tend to increase their probability of being in the market, but they only manage to approach the levels observed before motherhood after the child practically becomes an adult”, he adds.

According to the researchers, the period in which women become mothers can also be decisive for their insertion into the workforce and the type of job.

The most unfavorable scenario occurs among the youngest, aged between 18 and 24, with younger children, aged between zero and five.

In this cut, the participation gap vis-à-vis men was around 46.8 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“Younger women are more penalized. Often, they have to interrupt their studies, which are important for entering the market and searching for positions with good salaries”, evaluates Janaína Feijó.

“The delay of motherhood can improve the situation a little”, points out Valdemar Pinho Neto.

Difference also appears between women and men without children

In the comparison between women and men without children, the differences are also clear. However, they are less pronounced than in the cut between mothers and fathers.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, the participation of childless women in the workforce (48.1%) was 21.6 percentage points lower than that of childless men (69.7%). In the fourth quarter of 2012, it was at 24.7 percentage points.

“Even after a decade, the difference is still high between men and women”, points out Valdemar Pinho Neto, professor at FGV EPGE and one of the study’s co-authors.

The survey evaluates microdata from Pnad Contínua (Continuous National Household Sample Survey), released by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

Improvement depends on set of actions

According to the researchers, new advances in the scenario depend on a combination of factors.

In addition to a more robust performance of economic activity, which could generate space to absorb professionals away from the market, there is a need for the country to think about public policies that align work and personal life of mothers and fathers, the researchers indicate.

In this sense, they suggest a debate on expanding the supply of daycare centers and full-time schools, in addition to expanding paternity leave or creating parental leave.

The study also compares the usual hourly earnings between women and men employed with work. In the fourth quarter of 2012, mothers were paid 30% less than fathers.

The gap has narrowed over the decade, but remains above 20%. At the end of 2021, the income gap was 22.8%.