First Time Mothers and Employment
About 55 percent
of women who gave birth during 1991-95 worked full-time before the birth,
compared to 12 percent working only part-time. That is an increase from
39.7 percent of first time mothers in 1961 to 1965 who worked full-time
and 5 percent who worked part-time before the birth.
The percent of
first time mothers working full-time before the birth in 1991-95 was the
lowest since 1981-85. The highest percentage of first time mothers working
full-time before the birth occurred in 1986-90, when 58 percent of first
time mothers worked full-time.
Employment before birth by age:
| Age at first birth | 1991-95 | 1961-65 |
| Less than 18 years old | 20.5 percent | 25 percent |
| 18 and 19 years old | 45.7 percent | 29.2 percent |
| 20 to 21 years old | 57.7 percent | 49.4 percent |
| 22 to 24 years old | 70.5 percent | 56.8 percent |
| 25 to 29 years old | 83.6 percent | 54.4 percent |
| 30 years old and older | 85.1 percent | 51.9 percent |
Employment before birth by race
and ethnicity:
| Race and ethnicity | 1991-95 | 1981-85 |
| White | 70.3 percent | 65.2 percent |
| Non-Hispanic White | 75.6 percent | 68.4 percent |
| Black | 50.4 percent | 49.2 percent |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 58.4 percent | 43.6 percent |
| Hispanic (of any race) | 44 percent | 42.6 percent |
Employment before birth by educational
attainment:
| Educational attainment | 1991-95 | 1961-65 |
| Less than high school | 28.6 percent | 21.8 percent |
| High school graduate | 60.2 percent | 48.8 percent |
| Some college, no degree | 75.5 percent | 51.5 percent |
| Bachelor's degree or more | 87.1 percent | 62.9 percent |
Paid leave versus unpaid leave:
The maternity
leave women took in 1991-95 was as likely to be paid as unpaid. Leave was
paid in 31 percent of all cases, while leave was unpaid in 31 percent of
the cases.
Use of paid leave
after child's birth increased from 32 percent in 1981-85 to 36 percent
in 1991-95, while use of unpaid leave decreased from 40 percent to 37 percent
during the same time period.
Maternity leave by age:
The proportion
of women using paid leave for the first birth increased steadily with age,
from only 7 percent of women whose age at first birth was less than 18
years old to 59 percent among those who had their first birth at age 30
or older in 1991-95.
It is likely that
the greater labor force experience and job security enjoyed by older women
translates into better benefits when interrupting their job to have a baby.
Maternity leave by educational background:
Sixty three percent
of women with a bachelor's degree or more used paid benefits, compared
with 18 percent of women who had less than a high school education in 1991-95.
Women with a bachelor's
degree or more were less likely to use unpaid leave surrounding the birth
of their first child (35 percent), compared with women having less than
a high school education (47 percent) in 1991-95.
When women working before the birth
took leave:
| Time period | 1991-95 | 1961-65 |
| Less than one month | 52.6 percent | 22.7 percent |
| One month | 20.3 percent | 11.9 percent |
| Two months | 9 percent | 17.1 percent |
| Three to five months | 11 percent | 35.4 percent |
| Six or more months | 7.1 percent | 12.9 percent |
Leave arrangements used:
| Leave arrangement | 1991-95 | 1961-65 |
| Quit job | 26.9 percent | 62.8 percent |
| Paid leave | 42.7 percent | 16 percent |
| Unpaid leave | 40.3 percent | 14.1 percent |
| Disability leave | 11.2 percent | not available |
| Let go from job | 4.2 percent | 5 percent |
Returning to work:
In the early 1960s,
relatively few women worked within one year of childbirth- only 14 percent
of all mothers with newborns had returned to work by the 6th month, increasing
to only 17 percent by the the 12th month.
The percent of
women returning to work during those time periods more than doubled by
1976-80, with another large increase occurring by 1981-85 after the passage
of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
During 1991-94,
52 percent of mothers had returned to work by the 6th month after their
child's birth, and 60 percent by the 12th month.
In 1991-94, over
half had returned by three months after the first birth and over three-fourths
were working by the 6th month.
Fifty seven percent
of women who worked during their pregnancy were back to work by the third
month, compared with only 9 percent among women who had not worked during
their pregnancy in 1991-94.
By the sixth month
after childbirth, 70 percent of women who worked during their pregnancy
and 17 percent of took leave returned to work in 1991-94.
Fifty percent
of women who stopped working less than one month prior to their child's
birth were back at work less than three months after their child's birth,
compared with 22 percent of women who left 6 or more months before their
child's birth in 1991-94.
Since the early
1980s, about 75 percent of women who worked during their pregnancy returned
to work by 12 months after their child's birth.
Place of employment after birth:
Among those women
who returned to work within 12 months after their child's birth about 75
percent secured their first job after childbirth with their pre-birth employer
in 1991-94.
Changes in employment atmosphere:
The majority who
returned to their pre-birth employer (77 percent) also experienced no change
in the number of hours they worked per week in 1991-94 after having a child
compared to their work schedule before the child birth.
The percentage
of women working fewer hours after having their first child increased from
14 percent in 1981-85 to 20 percent in 1991-94.
At least 95 percent
of women returning to their pre-birth employer earned the same or higher
pay as before the birth in 1991-94.
About 93 percent
were at the same job skills level in 1991-94.
In 1991-94, women
who changed employers for their first job after childbirth experienced
considerable variability in the number of hours they worked each week,
their pay level, and the skill level of their job. Forty two percent worked
the same number of hours, 23 percent worked more hours, and 36 percent
worked fewer hours.
While 88 percent
of women in 1991-94 who returned to their same employer remained at the
same pay level, only 35 percent of women who switched employers had their
job at the same pay level.
A larger percentage
of women switched to employers that paid them more than their pre-birth
employer (38 percent) in 1991-94 than who paid them less (27 percent).
Ninety seven percent
or more of women returning to their pre-birth employer worked jobs requiring
the same or greater skills, but about 80 percent of women with new employers
were working at jobs with the same or greater level of skills after the
birth of their child in 1991-1994.
Among women who
returned to work by the 12th month after their child's birth, those who
returned to their pre-birth employer most frequently used paid leave (68
percent), unpaid leave (48 percent). Only five percent quit their job or
were let go during their pregnancy in 1991-1994.
Among women who
returned to work by the 12th month but who switched employers, most had
quit their job during their pregnancy (63 percent), followed by unpaid
leave (29 percent). Nine percent had been let go by their previous employer
in 1991-94.
About 12 percent
of women switched employers in 1991-94.
Exiting the workforce:
Women were more
likely in 1991-94 to quit their job before the birth of their child (23
percent) than wait until after their child is born (4 percent).
More
than twice as many women (44 percent) who had their birth before age 22
quit their jobs in 1991-94, compared with women who had their first child
at age 25 or older (19 percent).
Part-time workers
were also more likely to quit their jobs (53 percent) than full-time workers
(21 percent) in 1991-94.
Source:
Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns: 1961-1995, U.S. Census Bureau, Nov. 2001.