To better understand the consequences of career breaks within the scope of governmental schemes to support a better work-life balance, research so far has mainly focused on the effects of parental leave for women and gender gaps in wage differentials. Mortelmans and Frans (2017) go beyond these shortcomings by examining the impact of career breaks on the income of both men and women, and across the life course.

Over the course of the past few decades, women’s enrolment in post-secondary educational programmes has dramatically increased. The fertility implications have been well documented, but the studies generally assume that a student is only a student. Zsolt Spéder and Tamás Bartus sought to understand the impact double-status (studying part-time and working part-time at the same time) may have on the transition to motherhood. It turns out, their interest was well founded. They found the fertility implications of double-status women to be notable.

Of the many causes of gender inequality today, perhaps none appears more innocuous than housework. Research has shown nothing could be further from the truth. Traditional division of labour at home systematically discourage women from pursuing professional careers in favour of work they can easily combine with in-home duties. As time goes on, the arrangement reinforces itself. Recent years have seen more equitable arrangements spread across Europe, but a new study by Susanne Fahlén confirms that this tends to be despite men, not because of them.

Numerous studies have confirmed that higher educated women are more likely to be involved in the labour market. However, the strength of education effects on women’s employment can be shown to vary across contexts. In a recent analysis, Nadia Steiber, Caroline Berghammer, and Barbara Haas analyze how and why education effects on women’s employment vary across countries and how these effects are modified by the presence and age of children.