Women's Labor Force Participation and Their Life Courses

ジョセイ ノ シュウギョウ ト ライフコース センモンショク ジョセイ オ タイショウニ

ムラカミ, アカネ

Murakami, Akane

オオサカ ダイガク ニンゲン カガクブ シャカイガク ニンゲンガク ジンルイガク ケンキュウシツ

英語

ライフコース

社会経済的地位

母親の就業

ロールモデル

professional woman

life course

socioeconomic status

mothers' labor force participation

role model

In contemporary Japan, more women seem to think work to be an important factor in their life, and to have opportunity to attain (high) socioeconomic status by herself. For example, mean age at first marriage has delayed, and a number of women who is professional or manager has increased. But, previous studies of status attainment suppose men's work style. Men continue to work during their life from getting a first job to retirement. In contrast, in women's life, marriage/childbirth has impact on women, and they tend to interrupt their work after marriage/childbirth. Therefore, basing on only status attainment theory cannot understand women's work life and status attainment well. The Life course perspective is needed to explore women's occupational careers. This paper examines professional women and their life courses. By analyzing quantitative data and qualitative one, we finds their characteristics and some factors that make their life courses differentiated. Within the limitation of this sample, main findings are there. (1) About 30% of professional women are unmarried. And they have inclination to postpone their marriage and childbirth. The duration of childbirth causes to have fewer children. (2) Many of them continue to work after marriage/childbirth. (3) If their employment status is employee, they tend to continue the work without getting married/children. Husbands' high socioeconomic status (SES) has relation to woman's interruption of the job. Parents' SES has weak effect on daughters' job interruption. (4) If they have role model (ex. mother with paid work or others), they tend to continue their work after marriage/ childbirth. Further study should be done in relation to structure of labor market, the effect of job condition, How different life courses cause different socioeconomic status, how role model are selected, and so on.

英語