Suchergebnisse

Previous studies highlight gender differences in job-related training participation, particularly in countries with few family policies supporting maternal employment. This study examines whether higher levels of state-subsidized childcare provision are positively linked to mothers' participation in job-related training. It combines individual-level data from the National Educational Panel Study for Germany (NEPS-SC6 adult cohort, N = 5504, 2008–20) with annual administrative records on county-level childcare coverage. Results from fixed effects models provide evidence that higher childcare levels reduce the negative impact of childbirth on mothers' job-related training participation. Nevertheless, motherhood training penalties exist even in contexts with higher childcare coverage levels, especially in West Germany. The findings highlight the importance of supporting family policies to reduce motherhood training penalties and associated gender inequalities in the labour market.

By focusing on a period of a major public childcare expansion in Germany, this study investigates whether higher levels of childcare coverage for under-threes have been positively associated with employment among mothers with different educational backgrounds. Both standard economic labour theories and sociological theories presume that the effect of public childcare provision varies with mothers' educational attainment. The analysis links county-level data on annual childcare ratios with individual-level data from the Socio-Economic Panel Study (2007–2016). To match mothers with similar characteristics in counties with childcare ratios above and below the annual median within East and West Germany, entropy balancing is applied. Findings indicate a positive relationship between childcare provision and maternal employment, with more pronounced associations for mothers with at least a vocational degree, those with a second birth and those who receive full-time access to childcare.

"Durch die Elterngeldreform 2007 und den Ausbau der Kindertageseinrichtungen der letzten Jahre sind in Deutschland Rahmenbedingungen geschaffen worden, die eine gleichmäßigere Aufteilung der Erwerbs- und Familienarbeit erleichtern sollen. Dieser Beitrag untersucht, ob die Länge der Elternzeit beider Elternteile die Aufteilung der Familienarbeit mittelfristig beeinflusst, wenn beide Partner wieder erwerbstätig sind, und wodurch sich die Veränderungen erklären lassen. Analysen auf Basis des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) zeigen, dass eine längere Elternzeit von Müttern auch nach Rückkehr beider Partner in den Arbeitsmarkt mit einer traditionelleren Arbeitsteilung in Bezug auf Haushaltsarbeit und Kinderbetreuung einhergehen. Väter, die Elternzeit in Anspruch nehmen, teilen die Familienarbeit im vierten Jahr nach der Geburt gleichmäßiger auf als Väter ohne Erwerbsunterbrechung. Jedoch beteiligen sich Väter, die gleichzeitig mit der Partnerin Elternzeit genommen haben, nach der Geburt des ersten Kind mittelfristig weniger an der Kinderbetreuung als Väter, die nicht gleichzeitig mit der Mutter in Elternzeit waren. Beim zweiten Kind findet sich dieser Zusammenhang nicht. Die Ergebnisse lassen sich dadurch erklären, dass Mütter im Zuge einer längeren Elternzeit eher ihre Identität und ihre Präferenzen für Kinderbetreuung anpassen. Väter wiederum können sich durch die Elternzeit, vor allem wenn sie nicht gleichzeitig mit der Mutter genommen wird, 'familienarbeitsrelevante' Fähigkeiten aneignen und engere Bindungen zu den Kindern aufbauen." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)

Objective: We examine how care arrangements, general and altered working conditions, and worries influenced subjective well-being at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for working parents in Germany. Background: Prior research suggests several reasons for declines in subjective well-being, particularly for working mothers. We employ Pearlin's (1989) stress process model to explore the role of parental childcare, altered working conditions and amplified worries of working parents in terms of increased stressors and modified resources to cope with the extraordinary situation. Method: We use data from two starting cohorts from the National Educational Panel Study and its supplementary COVID-19 web survey from spring 2020 to examine possible heterogeneities in contextual factors for individual-level changes in the well-being of working mothers and fathers. Results: We confirm a more pronounced decline in well-being for working mothers than fathers. Part-time work and access to emergency care reduce the gender gap in decreased well-being. Conversely, young children in the household and personal worries are associated with lower well-being for both parents. However, we cannot explain the more significant decrease in mothers' well-being by increased childcare responsibilities or altered working conditions. Conclusion: A greater decline in well-being indicates a particular burden among working mothers. However, it cannot be linked solely to gendered inequalities in the changes of paid and unpaid work during the first months of the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made access to face-to-face learning opportunities - the most common form of adult learning - impossible. Many firms have scaled back their training investments due to economic uncertainty. One way to fill these gaps is through self-directed learning via the Internet. Learning opportunities via apps and online videos are available flexibly in terms of time and location. But can online learning substitute for the lack of face-to-face courses, especially in the workplace where constant skill updating becomes ever more important? We wanted to know if online learning opportunities were used more in the first months of the pandemic, and if so, for which purposes and by which groups. Using data from the Adult Cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS-SC6) and a supplementary web survey conducted in May and June 2020, we show that the work-related use of online learning was stronger in these months than before the crisis. At the same time, however, educational inequalities in the use of such opportunities were larger than before the pandemic. Thus, the expansion of online learning seems to benefit highly educated workers rather than educationally disadvantaged groups.

Postdoctoral researchers play a critical role in scientific research. This is the case not only for the Leibniz Association but for research worldwide. However, postdoctoral researchers are often overlooked or misrepresented as a homogeneous group of researchers. The principal aim of the Leibniz PostDoc Survey was to understand who Leibniz PostDocs are and to provide some insight into their experiences, interests, and needs. This report summarizes the results of the first Leibniz PostDoc Survey, which was open for submission from July to October 2020. The report includes a summary of the key findings and recommendations as well as a comprehensive description of all results from each survey question.