abstract: 'Although researchers generally agree that national family policies play

  a role in shaping mothers'' employment, there is considerable debate

  about whether, how, and why policy effects vary across country contexts

  and within countries by mothers'' educational attainment. We hypothesize

  that family policies interact with national levels of earnings

  inequality to differentially affect mothers'' employment outcomes by

  educational attainment. We develop hypotheses about the two most

  commonly studied family policies-early childhood education and care

  (ECEC) and paid parental leave. We test these hypotheses by establishing

  a novel linkage between the EU-Labour Force Survey and the Current

  Population Survey 1999 to 2016 (n = 23 countries, 299 country-years, 1.2

  million mothers of young children), combined with an original collection

  of country-year indicators. Using multilevel models, we find that ECEC

  spending is associated with a greater likelihood of maternal employment,

  but the association is strongest for non-college-educated mothers in

  high-inequality settings. The length of paid parental leave over six

  months is generally associated with a lower likelihood of maternal

  employment, but the association is most pronounced for mothers in

  high-inequality settings. We call for greater attention to the role of

  earnings inequality in shaping mothers'' employment and conditioning

  policy effects.'
affiliation: 'Hook, JL (Corresponding Author), Univ Southern Calif, Dept Sociol, 851
  Downey Way,Hazel Stanley Hall 314, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA.

  Hook, Jennifer L., Univ Southern Calif, Sociol, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA.

  Paek, Eunjeong, Univ Southern Calif, Dept Sociol, 851 Downey Way,Hazel Stanley Hall
  314, Los Angeles, CA 90089 USA.'
article-number: 0003122420922505
author: Hook, Jennifer L. and Paek, Eunjeong
author-email: hook@usc.edu
author_list:
- family: Hook
  given: Jennifer L.
- family: Paek
  given: Eunjeong
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1177/0003122420922505
earlyaccessdate: JUN 2020
eissn: 1939-8271
files: []
issn: 0003-1224
journal: AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW
keywords: 'women''s employment; family policies; income inequality; earnings

  inequality; educational attainment; work-family'
keywords-plus: 'LOW-SKILLED IMMIGRATION; GENDER-ROLE ATTITUDES; PARENTAL LEAVE; WOMENS

  EMPLOYMENT; CHILD-CARE; MULTILEVEL MODELS; OCCUPATIONAL SEGREGATION;

  ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES; WORKING HOURS; LABOR-MARKET'
language: English
month: JUN
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '145'
orcid-numbers: 'Hook, Jennifer/0000-0003-1125-9037

  Paek, Eunjeong/0000-0002-9701-4278'
pages: 381-416
papis_id: 12ae91c7f50ee4b08a92482bbb3c2b1d
ref: Hook2020nationalfamily
researcherid-numbers: 'Hook, Jennifer/CMK-1100-2022

  '
times-cited: '26'
title: 'National Family Policies and Mothers'' Employment: How Earnings Inequality
  Shapes Policy Effects across and within Countries'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000537156700001
usage-count-last-180-days: '13'
usage-count-since-2013: '63'
volume: '85'
web-of-science-categories: Sociology
year: '2020'