Pre-Motherhood Social Inequalities and Their Effect on Work-Life Balance

Previous research shows that the gender wage gap begins long before motherhood (Combet and Oesch, 2019). We therefore study some work-life balance (WLB) patterns that begin before the transition to motherhood. We hypothesise that intersectional social stratification differences drive labour market integration patterns and occupational segregation. These pre-motherhood differences significantly impact WLB patterns when the first child arrives. They range from the most extreme strategy of non-employment to a longer-lasting use of parental leave and a less penalising strategy of using a short birth leave. We apply an innovative multichannel sequential analysis to study panel data from the Spanish Continuous Sample of Working Lives. We cluster group similar pre- and post-motherhood employment trajectories over 10 years (2008/9 to 2018/19). We then use multinomial logistic regression to identify the key factors driving the clustering of four pre- and eight post-motherhood female labour market trajectories. The results of the WLB study over 10 years show that one-third of women have either a weak attachment to formal employment or only access part-time jobs. These women are more likely to be foreign-born and to have previously worked in personal services or elementary occupations. They are frequently unable to access maternity leave due to a lack of affiliation with social security. Furthermore, they often live with grandparents or other people, which demonstrates their need to pool income and points to a higher risk of child poverty (Lanau and Lozano, 2024). Solo mothers, on the other hand, show a stronger attachment to full-time work when they live alone and share households with grandparents more often when they are self-employed. Therefore, we can conclude that improving the legal status of immigrants, the employment conditions of women in personal services and elementary occupations and making the entitlement to birth and child benefits universal is the way forward.