On the occasion of the International Day of Families on May 15th, the ILO explores how family structure impacts women’s and men’s participation in the labour force.
Throughout their lives, individuals may enter or exit the labour force, but overall, prime-age adults, those aged 25 to 54, are those most likely to participate in the workforce. Many of them have dependents, such as children, older relatives or persons with disabilities, who rely on them for care and support, including financial support. The remainder of the blog focuses on adults in this age group.
Globally, 34% of prime-age adults have at least one child under the age of six. Among them, 53.4% reside in couple households1Couples with young children have three or more members. One member is listed as the “household head,” one member is listed as the “spouse of head” and at least one member is listed as a “child of head” under the age of six., 43.2% in extended family households2Extended families with young children have three or more members. One member is listed as the “household head,” at least one member is listed as a “child of head,” under the age of six, and at least one member is listed as a relative of the household head other than “spouse of head” or “child of head”. These households may contain heads, spouses, children of the head, and any other familial relative. However, they must not include any extra-familial members., and 3.4% in lone parent households3Lone parent households have two or more members. One member is listed as the “household head” and at least one member is listed as a “child of head”. In these households a child is only defined by their relationship to the head of household. There can also be multiple children. These households only have a head of household and the children of the head., predominantly as single mothers. For those with young children, couple households are the most common across country income groups, except in upper-middle-income countries, where extended families are slightly more prevalent than couples.
Over the past two decades, there has been no change in the global labour force participation rate of 25- to 54-year-olds. Yet, a breakdown by gender shows a diverging trend pointing to persistent and significant gaps between women and men. Since 2004, women have made some marginal gains, increasing their labour force participation rates by 1.1 percentage points to reach 64.5% in 2023, while men have experienced a drop of 1.1 percentage points, reaching 92%. This places the global gender gap in labour force participation at a substantial and unrelenting 27.5 percentage points in 2023.
But how does this gap in labour force participation vary across family types? Analysing data from the ILO Modelled Estimates (ILOEST) reveals that household composition significantly influences the gender gap, particularly when children are involved. Female labour force participation, more than males, is highly influenced by the presence of young children. Research shows that childcare responsibilities disproportionately fall upon women due to gender norms, with men being seen as needing to be the breadwinner in the household (ILO 2018). This data adds to the body of literature, finding that women with children under the age of six in couples and extended families have significantly reduced labour force participation. In contrast, lone mothers of young children, facing unique challenges that often necessitate their participation in the labour force, increase theirs.
In terms of numbers, the labour force participation of women with young children living in couples and extended families is 12 and 14 percentage points lower, respectively, than that of those without young children. In contrast, men’s high participation rates see far smaller changes when they have young children. They are three percentage points higher in couples and 0.6 points lower in extended families compared to those without young children.
Given this diverging gender pattern, the gender gap for couples and extended families with young children is almost two-thirds higher than for individuals without young children. The gender gaps in labour force participation are staggering, reaching 38 percentage points for couples and 36 percentage points for extended families with young children. By comparison, the gender gap for those without young children sits at 23 percentage points.
Globally, the gender gap in labour force participation remains similar between those residing in couples and extended families. However, the dynamics of female labour force participation differ significantly across income groups in these household structures. One might anticipate that living with extended family could ease mothers’ childcare responsibilities, potentially increasing their workforce participation. Yet, in both high-income and low-income countries, the opposite trend emerges: women in extended families with young children exhibit lower labour force participation rates compared to those in couples’ households. Therefore, it is not possible to generalize that either the couple or extended family setup is more conducive to engaging women in the labour force. This could be attributed to the fact that household characteristics, like wealth, education levels, cultural norms and the number of children, may have varying degrees of influence on family structure decisions across different countries.
Single parents, especially single mothers, face unique challenges balancing work and childcare responsibilities. For many lone parents, joining the labour force is not optional as they are the sole financial providers for themselves and their children. This financial necessity often forces single mothers to deviate from traditional gender norms. Globally, the labour force participation of lone mothers of young children stands at 71%, 3 percentage points higher than for women without young children. This financial responsibility drives lone mothers’ workforce rates to be higher in low- and lower-middle-income countries than those without young children (by 17 and 10 percentage points, respectively) and about the same rate in upper-middle-income countries. This, in turn, narrows the gender gap in labour force participation of lone parents. Notably, in low-income countries, the resulting gender gap with lone fathers is merely 4 percentage points.
The differences in gender gaps in workforce participation seen across income groups and family types underscore two key points. First, the gender gap widens with the presence of young children in couples and extended families across all income groups. Second, while young children and the associated childcare responsibilities seem to account for a significant portion of the gender gap in high-, upper-middle-, and low-income countries, they do not explain all of it. Meanwhile, in lower-middle-income countries, even the labour force participation of women with no young children remains quite low, and the gender gap is exceedingly high. This points to the importance of other factors besides childcare responsibilities keeping female labour force participation low, such as restrictive gender norms, other unpaid care responsibilities, discriminatory workplace policies, and limited access to education, training, and jobs.
There are significant gender gaps in labour force participation, which are especially stark when considering the presence of young children. Across all income groups, women bear a disproportionate share of childcare responsibilities. Mothers of young children in couples and extended families significantly reduce their workforce participation compared to women in households without young children. In contrast, men’s high participation rates see much smaller changes when they have young children. To narrow the labour force participation gender gaps in families with young children, countries can enhance access to adequate, accessible, quality and affordable childcare services and provide paid parental leave to both parents. Additionally, they can implement broader policies like promoting flexible work options, providing other care services (such as long-term care services), investing in education and training for women and men, ensuring equal pay, and tackling gender discrimination both in and beyond the workplace. In lower-income settings, investing in public services (and related workforce) as well as in infrastructure, such as water and sanitation, clean energy, good quality housing and transportation, could improve the health, wellbeing and job opportunites of women in the most marginalized households.
