Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/43678 
Title: 

Return-to-job during and after maternity leave

The document was removed on behalf of the author(s)/ the editor(s).

Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 10-103
Publisher: 
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim
Abstract: 
This paper studies the return-to-job of female employees after first birth based on exceptional longitudinal data from personnel records of a large German company. Given a very long maternity leave coverage, we investigate to what extent data available to management allow to predict the return-to-job during and after maternity leave. Our data show a large heterogeneity in transition patterns, which poses a challenge for management. Maternity leave durations often last for three years or longer. More than 50 percent of those in maternity leave do not return to their job afterwards, either because they leave the company or because they have a second child. At the same time, about 31 percent of female employees return to part-time work during maternity leave, which is often a stepping stone but no guarantee for a return-to-job afterwards. There is mixed evidence as to whether female employees in better job matches are more likely to return to their job in the company. Specifically, we find that the relative wage position, higher tenure, a combination of vocational training and university education, and an above average frequency of previous promotions show a positive association with the return-to-job and a higher employment stability afterwards. At the same time, female employees have their first child, when their careers have been particularly successful in comparison. Among these, a sizeable share does not continue to advance their career and many do not even return to their job.
Subjects: 
female employees
maternity leave
match quality
personnel data
JEL: 
J13
J22
M50
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
The document was removed on behalf of the author(s)/ the editor(s) on: March 4, 2011
There are no files associated with this item.


Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.