Sorting of Working Parents into Family-Friendly Firms
Published:Dec 28, 2025 06:46
•1 min read
•ArXiv
Analysis
This paper investigates how parents, particularly mothers, sort into family-friendly firms after childbirth. It uses Korean data and quasi-experimental designs to analyze the impact of family-friendly benefits like childcare and paternity leave. The key finding is that mothers are retained in the labor force at family-friendly firms, rather than actively switching jobs. This suggests that the availability of such benefits is crucial for labor force participation of mothers.
Key Takeaways
- •Family-friendly benefits, like childcare and paternity leave, are crucial for retaining mothers in the workforce.
- •Mothers are more likely to stay at their current jobs if those jobs offer family-friendly benefits.
- •The lack of family-friendly benefits is a significant factor in mothers leaving the labor force.
Reference
“Mothers are concentrated at family-friendly firms not because they switch into new jobs after childbirth, but because they exit the labor force when their employers lack such benefits.”