Il lavoro delle madri dopo la nascita del primo figlio: un'analisi longitudinale

Exiting studies have shown the work-family conflict to be stronger in familialistic welfare regimes compared to other institutional settings. Indeed, Italy stands among the western countries with the lowest levels of both fertility and female employment. This paper draws on micro-data from the Birth Sample Survey (BBS) conducted by Istat to develop a longitudinal analysis of the occupational transitions after the birth of the first child of a sample of mothers who were participants in the 2005 BBS and re-interviewed in 2012. A specific focus is on the changes in the occupational status of women in the two years following the childbirth: a crucial period in which mothers are generally in the process of reflecting and deciding about having possible future children and in which work or financial constraints are more heavily felt. Results from this study indicate that mothers with greater financial resources, e.g. those living in a couple and whose partner has a high occupational status, are generally less likely to be working in the two years after childbearing.