Working mothers often face lower wages, fewer formal contracts, and less job security than their male counterparts, a disparity that is exacerbated by traditional gender roles and the time-intensive nature of childrearing. This column reports on a study of the potential of longer school hours as a strategy for improving their employment opportunities, providing compelling evidence from Chile that such reforms can improve job quality for women, particularly for lower-educated mothers.
As the global workforce undergoes rapid transformations (Ngai et al. 2024), the intersection of employment quality, childcare, and gender equality has become a focal point of policy debates (ILO 2018, 2020). The Covid-19 pandemic has further amplified concerns around women’s labour force participation since school closures and remote learning at home have negatively impacted women’s employment, emphasising the need for effective policies that balance work and family life (Jessen and Waights 2020, ILO 2021, Alon et al. 2022a, 2022b).
A significant aspect of this policy debate is the persistent gender gap in job quality (Boustan and Kuziemko 2023). Women, particularly mothers, often face lower wages, fewer formal contracts, and less job security compared with their male counterparts. This disparity is exacerbated by traditional gender roles and the time-intensive nature of childrearing (Heath and Jayachandran 2017), which frequently leads to interruptions in women’s careers (Cavapozzi et al. 2021).
Addressing these gender gaps in employment quality is essential for achieving broader economic and social objectives, such as reducing poverty, enhancing household welfare, and promoting women’s empowerment.
The introduction of well-designed childcare programmes and supportive school schedules can play a pivotal role in mitigating these disparities, enabling mothers to access better-quality jobs and reducing the motherhood penalty. Among these, longer school schedules have emerged as a promising strategy to support working mothers.
In a new study (Berthelon et al. 2024), we explore the impact of extended school hours on mothers’ employment quality in Chile. As countries strive for inclusive economic growth and social cohesion, ensuring that women can access quality employment is crucial. Policies that support working mothers not only contribute to gender equality but also enhance overall economic productivity and family wellbeing.
The policy debate
Current policy discussions increasingly recognise the dual challenge women face in balancing childcare responsibilities with professional aspirations. The ‘motherhood penalty’ – the adverse impact on mothers’ wages and career progression – is well documented. A notable study by Kleven et al. (2019) highlights how mothers who take career breaks for childcare face long-term wage penalties compared to their childless counterparts or fathers. This penalty extends to job quality, with many mothers finding themselves in lower-paying, less secure employment.
Governments worldwide are exploring various measures to mitigate these challenges. Flexible work schedules, parental leave policies, and accessible childcare services are among the most frequently discussed solutions. For example, in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, generous parental leave and subsidised childcare have significantly boosted women’s labour force participation. But these policies are not universally applicable and countries with different socio-economic contexts must tailor their approaches to address local needs.
In Latin America, where traditional gender roles often prevail and formal childcare options are limited, innovative solutions are required. Chile’s full-day school (FDS) reform, which extended primary school hours, provides a compelling case study. By increasing the time children spend in school, the reform effectively acts as a childcare subsidy, enabling mothers to pursue higher-quality employment opportunities. This approach not only aims to improve educational outcomes for children but also supports working mothers, creating a dual benefit for society.
Previous research
Numerous studies have examined the influence of childcare policies on mothers’ labour market outcomes. For example, Berlinski and Galiani (2007) find that the expansion of pre-primary education in Argentina significantly increased maternal employment. Similarly, Baker et al. (2008) report that universal childcare provision in Quebec led to a higher maternal labour supply. These studies underscore the importance of accessible childcare in enabling mothers to participate in the labour market. But much of this literature focuses on labour force participation rather than the quality of employment.
The quality of employment, which includes aspects such as job security, wages and working conditions, is crucial for the overall wellbeing of working mothers. Jobs that offer higher wages, better job security, and formal contracts contribute to greater economic stability and personal satisfaction. This broader perspective is essential as employment quality affects not only the individuals but also their families and communities. Aleksynska (2018) highlights that temporary employment often leads to lower job satisfaction and poorer working conditions, which can have long-term negative impacts on workers’ well-being.
The gap in the literature concerning the impact of childcare policies on employment quality is significant. Studies such as those by Del Boca (2002) and Chioda (2016) touch on related issues, noting that flexible work schedules and childcare availability can facilitate mothers’ return to the workforce. But these studies primarily address the quantitative aspect of employment rather than the qualitative improvements that may arise from such policies.
We address this gap by investigating the impact of extended school schedules in Chile on mothers’ employment quality. Our study provides a new understanding of how longer school hours can enhance job quality, offering insights for policymakers worldwide. By focusing on job quality, the study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how childcare policies can support not just labour market participation but also the enhancement of job conditions for working mothers.
Evidence from Chile
The Chilean reform of the 1990s, which extended primary school hours, serves as a quasi-experimental setting to explore this relationship. By increasing daily school schedules by approximately 1.5 to 2 hours, the FDS reform aimed to improve educational outcomes and provide an implicit childcare subsidy. We leverage this reform to analyse its impact on mothers of primary school-aged children.
Figure 1 Geographic evolution of municipal share of primary schools under the FDS regime, 2002-2015
Source: Estimates from Berthelon et al. (2024) and based on School Directory/Administrative JEC data (MINEDUC).
We use a longitudinal dataset of about 1,900 mothers, employing individual fixed-effects models to control for unobserved heterogeneity. Our findings indicate that greater access to full-day schools significantly improved mothers’ job quality.
A 25 percentage point increase in FDS coverage – what was needed in 2015 on average to reach full coverage throughout the country – is associated with a 3.1% increase in the likelihood of having a formal contract and a 10% decrease in the likelihood of self-employment. These effects were more pronounced among lower-educated mothers, suggesting that the policy particularly benefited those with fewer resources.
We also explore the impact on intra-household gender gaps. The results show that increased access to full-day schools not only improved mothers’ employment quality but also helped reduce the gender gap within households. For example, mothers with greater access to FDS were more likely to have formal contracts and full-time employment compared to their male partners. This indicates that childcare policies like extended school hours can contribute to reducing gender disparities in job quality and overall employment conditions within families.
We also find that the policy’s impact was more significant for mothers who did not have other adults at home to help with childcare, highlighting the critical role of institutional support in improving employment outcomes for mothers.
Policy implications
The results from Chile highlight the potential of longer school schedules to support mothers’ transition into better-quality jobs. By reducing the opportunity cost of work, extended school hours enable mothers to engage more fully in the labour market, accessing jobs with higher wages, greater security and better working conditions. This has broader implications for gender equality and economic growth.
Other countries considering similar reforms can draw valuable lessons from Chile’s experience. For example, in Germany and Brazil, policies aimed at increasing school hours have shown positive effects on maternal employment. Conversely, in the US, states that have reduced school hours might reconsider such policies in light of potential negative impacts on women’s employment outcomes.
Conclusion
Longer school schedules represent a viable policy option to enhance the quality of mothers’ employment and reduce related gender gaps. Our Chilean case study provides compelling evidence that such reforms can improve job quality for women, particularly for lower-educated mothers. As policymakers grapple with recovery from crises and strive for inclusive growth, extending school hours should be considered a key component of strategies to support working mothers and promote gender equality.
Source : VOXeu
