Family-friendly policies can retain mothers in the workforce but may unintentionally encourage part-time work among those in full-time roles, potentially affecting their careers.
Balancing work and family life remains a significant challenge for parents, with women disproportionately shouldering caregiving responsibilities. This imbalance frequently results in reduced labor force participation and lower earnings for mothers compared to fathers. To address these disparities, many countries have implemented family-friendly policies, yet their impacts are often more complex than expected.
In 1999, Spain introduced a reform granting parents the right to reduce their working hours by up to 50% while their youngest child was under six years old, with job protection ensuring continued employment. Over the years, this policy was extended: in 2007, the age limit was raised to eight years, and in 2013, to twelve. While the reform was available to both mothers and fathers, the vast majority of claimants were mothers. Our recent study focuses on how such measures shape maternal labor market trajectories.
The reform allowed parents to reduce their working hours by up to half their usual schedule while their youngest child was under six. This reduction came with a proportional salary cut but included job protection, enabling parents to balance childcare responsibilities without risking job loss. The actual duration for which parents could access the policy depended on their child’s age when the law was implemented. For instance, a parent with a four-year-old in 1999 could use the policy for two years, while a parent with a newborn could access it for the full six years. Our research investigates how these varying durations of access affected mothers’ employment and earnings, both during and after the policy period.
In the short term, the policy had a significant positive effect on mothers’ ability to remain employed. Mothers with extended access to reduced hours were more likely to work part-time while their children were young. Crucially, this part-time work replaced periods of unemployment or economic inactivity rather than full-time employment. As a result, the average mother not only stayed employed but also experienced modest increases in overall earnings. These positive effects were most pronounced among mothers with weaker pre-existing labor force attachment.
The longer-term effects, observed after mothers were no longer eligible for reduced hours (i.e., after their youngest child turned six), present a nuanced picture. For mothers at risk of leaving the workforce entirely, the policy served as a safety net, allowing them to maintain employment and sustain earnings over time. These mothers often demonstrated stronger long-term labor market attachment compared to those with shorter access to the policy.
However, for mothers already well-established in the labor market—such as those with permanent full-time contracts—the reform had unintended consequences. Many in this group shifted from full-time to part-time work during the eligibility period, and this shift often persisted even after their children grew older. This transition led to reduced working hours and a persistent decline in earnings over the long run.
The findings highlight the dual-edged nature of family-friendly policies. While they successfully support workforce retention for mothers at risk of exiting the labor market, they can unintentionally incentivize part-time work among those already firmly established in full-time positions, with lasting consequences for their careers. Policymakers should consider these varied impacts when designing and implementing similar policies to ensure they effectively balance the needs of all working parents.
© Alicia De Quinto and Libertad González
Alicia De Quinto is Economist at the European Commission (DG JRC) and a PhD candidate at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Libertad González is Full Professor at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain, and IZA Research Fellow
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Related IZA World of Labor content:
https://wol.iza.org/articles/parental-leave-and-maternal-labor-supply by Astrid Kunze
https://wol.iza.org/articles/do-childcare-policies-increase-maternal-employment by Daniela Vuri
https://wol.iza.org/articles/motherhood-wage-penalty-may-affect-pronatalist-policies by Olena Y. Nizalova
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