Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Motherhood and Female Labor Market Outcomes in Latin America

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Mothers in the Labor Market

Abstract

In Latin America, as in other developing regions, gender gaps in the labor market are still large. In this chapter we assess the role of motherhood in these gaps, bringing together new and existing evidence in an attempt to provide the most actual and comprehensive panorama for the region. New descriptive evidence comes from a novel database (GenLAC) that provides comparable data for 18 countries in Latin America regarding gender differences across many domains while also enabling intra-household comparisons. We document significant gender gaps in labor force participation (LFP), hours worked and wages, which remain about the same when considering women and men with similar characteristics. We also show that the presence of children in the household seems to explain a substantial portion of these gender gaps. This descriptive evidence is consistent with the results found by the very incipient literature addressing the causal effect of motherhood on labor market outcomes in the region. We provide a summary of this evidence which relies on event-study designs to obtain causal impacts of the birth of the first child on the labor market trajectories of parents. Results show that in Latin American countries effects are similar to those found for developed regions, although sizes differ. We next piece together the evidence regarding the main drivers behind motherhood effects in the region, namely: gender norms, childcare availability and family policies. Finally, we reunite the most recent evidence analyzing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on female labor market performance and conclude that this shock contributed to deepen the labor gender gaps through channels closely related to the disproportionate share of child care activities performed by women in Latin American households.

We are very grateful to José Alberto Molina for encouraging us to write this chapter, and also to an anonymous reviewer for helpful suggestions. The usual disclaimer applies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    For instance, Cortes and Pan (2020) summarize much of this recent literature for developed countries and find that close to two thirds of the overall gender earnings gap can be accounted for by the differential impacts of children on women and men.

  2. 2.

    The GenLAC database can be accessed at https://genlac.econo.unlp.edu.ar/home-en/.

  3. 3.

    Unlike the figures presented in this chapter, most of the indicators available in the GenLAC database correspond to adults aged 25–64. See https://genlac.econo.unlp.edu.ar/home-en/.

  4. 4.

    Also, Table 9.5 presents the results on labor force participation for each country. Results on the other labor market outcomes by country are available upon request.

  5. 5.

    The gaps are measured as \((\frac {metric_{women}}{metric_{men}}-1)100\).

  6. 6.

    Previous works had already studied the effect of family size or the second and third child on labor market outcomes of Latin American mothers. The effects found in that literature are usually small and can only be identified for the short run (Agüero & Marks, 2008, 2011; Cáceres-Delpiano, 2012; Cruces & Galiani, 2007).

  7. 7.

    The national household surveys used are: the Longitudinal Social Protection Survey for Chile, the Module of Labor Trajectories of the Employment Survey for Mexico (MOTRAL), the National Household Survey for Peru (ENAHO), and the Longitudinal Social Protection Survey for Uruguay (LSPS-URY). In all cases the authors use the same econometric specification, sample selection criteria, and variable definitions, which together allows for comparing the motherhood effects across countries.

  8. 8.

    Notice that part-time employment could not be analyzed in Mexico because the data to define this labor outcome is not available in that case.

References

  • Agüero, J. M., & Marks, M. S. (2008). Motherhood and female labor force participation: Evidence from infertility shocks. American Economic Review, 98(2), 500–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agüero, J. M., & Marks, M. S. (2011). Motherhood and female labor supply in the developing world evidence from infertility shocks. Journal of Human Resources, 46(4), 800–826.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar-Gomez, S., Arceo-Gomez, E., & De la Cruz Toledo, E. (2019). Inside the black box of child penalties. Available at SSRN 3497089.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andresen, M., & Nix, E. (2021). What causes the child penalty? Evidence from adopting and same-sex couples. Forthcoming Journal of Labor Economics. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/action/doSearch?AllField=emily+nix&SeriesKey=jole

  • Ángeles, G., Gadsden, P., Galiani, S., Gertler, P., Herrera, A., Kariger, P., & Seira, E. (2014). The impact of daycare on maternal labour supply and child development in mexico, 3ie impact evaluation report 6. New Delhi: International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie).

    Google Scholar 

  • Antecol, H., Bedard, K., & Stearns, J. (2018). Equal but inequitable: Who benefits from gender-neutral tenure clock stopping policies? American Economic Review, 108(9), 2420–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Attanasio, O. M. (2004). Vera-hernández (2004).“Medium and long run effects of nutrition and child care: Evaluation of a community nursery programme in rural colombia”. The Institute for Fiscal Studies Working Papers (WP04/06).

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, M., & Milligan, K. (2008). How does job-protected maternity leave affect mothers’ employment? Journal of Labor Economics, 26(4), 655–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1991). A treatise on the family: Enlarged edition. Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Berlinski, S., & Galiani, S. (2007). The effect of a large expansion of pre-primary school facilities on preschool attendance and maternal employment. Labour Economics, 14(3), 665–680.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berlinski, S., Galiani, S., & Mc Ewan, P. J. (2011). Preschool and maternal labor market outcomes: Evidence from a regression discontinuity design. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 59(2), 313–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berniell, I., Berniell, L., de la Mata, D., Edo, M., Fawaz, Y., Machado, M., & Marchionni, M. (2020). Motherhood and the allocation of talent: Harmonized evidence on 29 countries. CEDLAS Working Paper 270, Center for Distributive, Labor, and Social Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berniell, I., Berniell, L., De la Mata, D., Edo, M., & Marchionni, M. (2021a). Gender gaps in labor informality: The motherhood effect. Journal of Development Economics, 150, 102599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berniell, I., Berniell, L., de la Mata, D., Edo, M., & Marchionni, M. (2021b). Motherhood and flexible jobs. evidence from Latin American countries. WIDER Working Paper 2021/33, UNU-WIDER, Helsinki.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berniell, I., & Facchini, G. (2021). Covid-19 lockdown and domestic violence: Evidence from internet-search behavior in 11 countries. European Economic Review, 136, 103775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berniell, I., Gasparini, L., Marchionni, M., & Viollaz, M. (2021c). The role of work-from-home in the gender asymmetries of COVID-19. an analysis for Latin America based on high-frequency surveys. Policy Research Working Paper WPS9887, The World Bank, Washington D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berniell, L., & Fernandez, D. (2021). Jobs’ amenability is not enough: The role of household inputs for safe work under social distancing in latin american cities. World Development, 140, 105247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertrand, M. (2020). Gender in the twenty-first century. In AEA Papers and Proceedings (vol. 110, pp. 1–24).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertrand, M., Kamenica, E., & Pan, J. (2015). Gender identity and relative income within households. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(2), 571–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonavida, C., Brambilla, I., & Gasparini, L. (2021). Automatización y pandemia: Amenazas sobre el empleo en américa latina. Revista de Análisis Económico (RAE).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bursztyn, L., Fujiwara, T., & Pallais, A. (2017). ‘acting wife’: Marriage market incentives and labor market investments. American Economic Review, 107(11), 3288–3319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cáceres-Delpiano, J. (2012). Can we still learn something from the relationship between fertility and mother’s employment? Evidence from developing countries. Demography, 49, 151–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campaña, J. C., Giménez-Nadal, J. I., & Molina, J. A. (2018). Gender norms and the gendered distribution of total work in latin american households. Feminist Economics, 24(1), 35–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campos-Vazquez, R. M., Rivas-Herrera, C., Alcaraz, E., & Martinez, L. A. (2021). The effect of maternity on employment and wages in mexico. Applied Economics Letters, 1–5. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504851.2021.1967272?journalCode=rael20

  • CEDLAS & The World Bank (2021). Socio-Economic database for Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved from https://www.cedlas.econo.unlp.edu.ar/wp/en/estadisticas/sedlac/

  • Chioda, L., & Verdú, R. G. (2016). Work and family: Latin American and Caribbean women in search of a new balance. World Bank Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connelly, R., DeGraff, D. S., & Levison, D. (1996). Women’s employment and child care in brazil. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 44(3), 619–656.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cortes, P., & Pan, J. (2020). Children and the remaining gender gaps in the labor market. NBER, No. 27980.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costoya, V., Echeverría, L., Edo, M., Rocha, A., & Thailinger, A. (2021). Gender gaps within couples: Evidence of time re-allocations during covid-19 in argentina. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 1–14. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10834-021-09770-8#citeas

  • Cruces, G., & Galiani, S. (2007). Fertility and female labor supply in Latin America: New causal evidence. Labour Economics, 14, 565–573.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dahl, G. B., Løken, K. V., Mogstad, M., & Salvanes, K. V. (2016). What is the case for paid maternity leave? Review of Economics and Statistics, 98(4), 655–670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De la Vega, P., & Gasparini, L. (2021). Teleworking as a mitigator of the economic impacts of the covid-19 pandemic. the case of argentina. CEDLAS Working Paper N o̱282, CEDLAS-Universidad Nacional de La Plata.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekberg, J., Eriksson, R., & Friebel, G. (2013). Parental leave—a policy evaluation of the swedish “daddy-month” reform. Journal of Public Economics, 97, 131–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etcheverry, L. (2020). Work half-time, receive full-time pay: Effect of novel family policy on female labor market outcomes. Mimeo. https://www.lucianaetcheverry.com/research/

  • Farré, L., & Vella, F. (2013). The intergenerational transmission of gender role attitudes and its implications for female labour force participation. Economica, 80(318), 219–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez, R. (2007). Women, work, and culture. Journal of the European Economic Association, 5(2–3), 305–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández, R., Fogli, A., & Olivetti, C. (2004). Mothers and sons: Preference formation and female labor force dynamics. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 119(4), 1249–1299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Kranz, D., & Rodríguez-Planas, N. (2011). The part-time pay penalty in a segmented labor market. Labour Economics, 18(5), 591–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galvan, E., Parada, C., Querejeta, M., & Salvador, S. (2021). Gender gaps and family policies in latin america. Anales de la LVI Reunión Anual de la AAEP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gasparini, L., & Marchionni, M. (2015). Bridging gender gaps? CEDLAS-Universidad Nacional de La Plata.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gasparini, L., & Marchionni, M. (2017). Deceleration in female labor force participation in latin america. Economía, 18(1), 197–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gasparini, L. C., & Tornarolli, L. (2009). Labor informality in latin america and the caribbean: Patterns and trends from household survey microdata. Revista Desarrollo y Sociedad, 63, 13–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GenLAC-CEDLAS (2021). Genlac – evidence for gender equity in latin America and the Caribbean (version 1.1). [database]. Retrieved from https://www.genlac.econo.unlp.edu.ar/en.

  • Halim, D., Perova, E., & Reynolds, S. (2021). Childcare and mothers’ labor market outcomes in lower-and middle-income countries.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hallman, K., Quisumbing, A. R., Ruel, M., & Brière, B. d. l. (2005). Mothers’ work and child care: findings from the urban slums of guatemala city. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 53(4), 855–885.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hospido, L., Sanz, C., & de Quinto, A. (2021). The child penalty: evidence from spain. SERIEs, 12(4):585–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleven, H., Landais, C., & Mariate, G. L. (2021a). The Child Penalty Atlas. Retrieved from https://www.hubequalrep.org/our-goal/

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleven, H., Landais, C., Posch, J., Steinhauer, A., & Zweimüller, J. (2019a). Child penalties across countries: Evidence and explanations. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 109, 122–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleven, H., Landais, C., Posch, J., Steinhauer, A., & Zweimüller, J. (2020). Do family policies reduce gender inequality? Evidence from 60 years of policy experimentation. Working Paper No. 28082, National Bureau of Economic Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleven, H., Landais, C., & Søgaard, J. E. (2019b). Children and gender inequality: Evidence from Denmark. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 11(4), 181–209.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleven, H., Landais, C., & Søgaard, J. E. (2021b). Does biology drive child penalties? evidence from biological and adoptive families. American Economic Review: Insights, 3(2), 183–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kluve, J., & Tamm, M. (2013). Parental leave regulations, mothers’ labor force attachment and fathers’ childcare involvement: evidence from a natural experiment. Journal of Population Economics, 26(3), 983–1005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuziemko, I., Pan, J., Shen, J., & Washington, E. (2018). The mommy effect: Do women anticipate the employment effects of motherhood? NBER, No. 24740.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lalive, R., & Zweimüller, J. (2009). How does parental leave affect fertility and return to work? Evidence from two natural experiments. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(3), 1363–1402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lubienski, S. T., Robinson, J. P., Crane, C. C., & Ganley, C. M. (2013). Brief report: Girls’ and boys’ mathematics achievement, affect, and experiences: Findings from ECLS-K. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(4), 634–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Machado, C., & Pinho Neto, V. (2018). The labor market effects of maternity leave extension. Available at SSRN 3129363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marchionni, M., Gasparini, L., & Edo, M. (2018). Brechas de género en américa latina. un estado de situación. CAF - Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez, C., & Perticará, M. (2017). Childcare effects on maternal employment: Evidence from chile. Journal of Development Economics, 126, 127–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mateo-Berganza Díaz, M. M., & Rodríguez Chamussy, L. (2016). Cashing in on education: Women, childcare, and prosperity in latin america and the caribbean.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olivetti, C., Patacchini, E., & Zenou, Y. (2020). Mothers, peers, and gender-role identity. Journal of the European Economic Association, 18(1), 266–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olivetti, C., & Petrongolo, B. (2017). The economic consequences of family policies: Lessons from a century of legislation in high-income countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(1), 205–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paes de Barros, R., Olinto, P., Lunde, T., & Carvalho, M. (2011). The impact of free childcare on women’s labor force participation: Evidence from low-income neighborhoods of rio de janeiro. Ponencia presentada en el Foro de Economistas del Banco Mundial. Washington DC: Banco Mundial.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedrazzi, J. (2022). The mothehood effect in Latin America. Mimeo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinto, M. F. (2022). Stay at home with grandma, mom is going to work: The impact of grandmothers’ retirement on mothers’ labor decisions. Economic Development and Cultural Change, forthcoming. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/719161

  • Provoste Fernández, P. (2013). Protección social y redistribución del cuidado en américa latina y el caribe: el ancho de las políticas. En: Redistribuir el cuidado: el desafío de las políticas. Santiago: CEPAL, 2013. p. 127–166. LC/G. 2568-P.

    Google Scholar 

  • Querejeta Rabosto, M. (2020). Impacto de la maternidad en la trayectoria laboral de las mujeres: evidencia para uruguay.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosero, J., & Oosterbeek, H. (2011). Trade-offs between different early childhood interventions: Evidence from ecuador.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryu, H. (2020). The effect of compulsory preschool education on maternal labour supply. The Journal of Development Studies, 56(7), 1384–1407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talamas, M. (2021). Grandmothers and the gender gap in the mexican labor market. Mimeo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uribe, A. M. T., Vargas, C. O., & Bustamante, N. R. (2019). Unintended consequences of maternity leave legislation: The case of colombia. World Development, 122, 218–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina

    Inés Berniell, Mariana Marchionni & María Florencia Pinto

  2. CAF-banco de desarrollo de América Latina, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Lucila Berniell & Dolores de la Mata

  3. Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    María Edo

  4. CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mariana Marchionni

Authors
  1. Inés Berniell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lucila Berniell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dolores de la Mata
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. María Edo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mariana Marchionni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. María Florencia Pinto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain

    José Alberto Molina

Appendix

Appendix

Table 9.1 Countries/years included in the analysis and sample sizes
Full size table
Table 9.2 Descriptive statistics of men and women by country
Full size table
Table 9.3 Variable definitions
Full size table
Table 9.4 Labor market outcomes. Latin American average, circa 2019
Full size table
Table 9.5 Labor force participation by country, circa 2019
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Berniell, I., Berniell, L., de la Mata, D., Edo, M., Marchionni, M., Pinto, M.F. (2022). Motherhood and Female Labor Market Outcomes in Latin America. In: Molina, J.A. (eds) Mothers in the Labor Market. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99780-9_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99780-9_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-99779-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-99780-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation