My PhD dissertation titled “Family Policy Outcomes: combining institutional and demographic explanations of women’s employment and earnings inequality in OECD countries, 1975-2005” is now available for download.

The dissertation was approved by a committee of 6 renowned scholars, and I will defend it during a public defense on January 10th, 2014. 

The dissertation addresses how family policies have been effective in shaping inequalities in women’s employment and earnings inequality within and between households. Reconciliation policies resulted in a smaller gap in employment between mothers and women without children, particularly so among higher educated women. Overly long childcare leave, however, reduced mothers’ employment. Financial support policies to families with children were shown to result in mothers being less likely to be employed. In addition, we found that women’s earnings reduced inequality between households. In countries that facilitate women’s employment, with extensive reconciliation policies and limited financial support policies, women’s earnings contributed more strongly to reducing earnings inequality between households.

I would welcome any discussion about my work, and possible research interests we may share. I can be contacted at rense.nieuwenhuis@sofi.su.se

Download Family Policy Outcomes (.PDF, 7 Mb).