Family, women´s employment and reproduction in Spain: The impact of structural factors

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present comparative trends regarding female employment and fecundity in Europe in relation to family typologies. This study estimates the factors that best explain the decline in the male breadwinner family model in several European countries. Furthermore, the article analyses to what extent certain structural factors transversally explain reduced fecundity in Spain and the probability of women being employed. Aggregate data have been used from various European sources such as the 2006 European Labour Force Survey and the Encuesta de Familia y Empleo 2006 (2006 Family and Employment Survey). Our results suggest that the relationship between education, female employment and fecundity in a context of limited institutional support for parents is a determining factor in Spain. The family model of two breadwinners in Spain was also found to be associated with a reduced number of children and medium to high educational levels in couples. This correlation was less significant in other European countries with institutional contexts that are more favourable to female employment and the reconciliation of work and family life.