Labor force participation of working mothers and family formation: some further evidence
Clifford, W.B.; Tobin, P.L.
Demography 14(3): 273-284
1977
ISSN/ISBN: 0070-3370 PMID: 892111 DOI: 10.2307/2060786Document Number: 297145
This paper offers additional insight and evidence on the well-documented inverse relationship between female employment and fertility. Interviews with 388 working mothers from a probability sample in Robeson County, North Carolina, provide the data for testing the hypothesized relationships. Generally, the results indicate that lower fertility, lower desires and expectations, and earlier use of birth control are associated with work before the first birth and with employment of the longest duration. The timing of the first birth was not differentiated by variations in work experience. The results are conditional in that the relationships hold more for whites than for blacks or Indians.