Mobilizing unutilised labour reserves: the role of part-time work and extended employment interruptions

Norwegian women have a high employment level, but at the same time one of the highest part-time rates in Europe as well as in the Nordic countries, and part-time is common among women in all stages of the life cycle. At the same time a substantial proport ion is absent from work due to childbirth and child-care. This project will explore the potential labour supply reserve among these groups, distinguishing barriers that may prevent and measures that may promote increased labour supply. In the last couple of decades, extensions of parental leave and after-school programs have facilitated women's employment, and the coverage of kindergartens has improved tremendously. Moreover, new generations of women are better educated, men are expected to be more invol ved in family work, and the cultural climate is more supportive of women's full-time work. An intriguing question is therefore why the proportion of part-time workers is still so high, and why many women withdraw from the labour market for extended period s. Building on the insights of former studies, we shall undertake more extensive analyses of these issues, using more recent data, extracted from multiple sources and covering a longer calendar period. We will examine how labour market behaviour is shape d by family policies and labour market conditions, and by gender role perceptions and practices. The former will be illuminated analysing labour market behaviour during a period with changing policies and business cycles, while the latter will be explored in a couple perspective, with particular focus on the impact of the partner's employment, income, and participation in household tasks. The analyses will be based on the Norwegian LFS, EU-SILC and LOGG and will mainly be limited to women who have a partn er, i.e. who are either married or cohabiting.