A1050
Title: Which burden, housework/child care or market labor, affects women's employment decisions
Authors: Tomoe Naito - Seikei University (Japan) [presenting]
Abstract: The aim is to examine the determinants of women's employment separation in Japan, focusing on their work-life balance, their husbands' time allocation, and perceived burden in market labor and unpaid labor, for example, housework and childcare. Using data from the Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers (from 1993 to 2020) and analyzing it using the fixed-effects model with lagged independent variables, the analysis responds to the structural shift since the 1990s toward dual-earner households, where many women are employed as part-timers and continue to bear a disproportionate share of unpaid labor. Results show that increases in women's time spent on unpaid labor significantly raise the likelihood of unemployment, with faster behavioral responses compared to changes in market labor hours. In contrast, neither the husband's time spent on market work nor housework and childcare significantly affects the wife's employment status. Women who report a higher subjective burden from unpaid labor are less likely to exit employment, suggesting that labor force participation may alleviate the psychological strain associated with domestic responsibilities. These findings underscore the persistent gender imbalance in unpaid labor and highlight the need for policy interventions that support women's work-life balance and promote more equitable household labor arrangements.
