KDI: "Becoming a Mom Increases Career Interruption Risk by 2.6 Times"

A study has found that the probability of career interruption for women who have given birth is more than twice as high as that for women without children. It was also found that 40% of the decline in the total fertility rate is due to employment disadvantages faced by women after childbirth.

The Korea Development Institute (KDI) released a report titled "Concerns about Women's Career Interruption and Declining Fertility Rates" on the 16th, containing these findings.

According to the report, the probability of career interruption for women with children decreased only slightly from 28% in 2014 to 24% last year. This contrasts with the average probability of career interruption for women overall, which dropped from 29% to 17% during the same period. Notably, for women without children, the probability of career interruption fell sharply from 33% to 9% last year. This means that as of last year, women who have given birth are about 2.6 times more likely to experience career interruption.

It was also analyzed that women who forgo childbirth gain economic benefits. For childless women in their 30s, the probability of career interruption decreases by at least 14 percentage points if they do not have children. Considering the damage to human capital caused by career interruption, wage increases when continuing their careers, and childcare costs after childbirth, the actual economic gains are even greater, according to KDI.

Employment disadvantages faced by women due to childbirth have significantly lowered the total fertility rate. Between 2013 and 2019, 39.6% of the decline in the total fertility rate among women aged 25 to 34 was attributed to employment disadvantages faced by women who gave birth. The interpretation is that since the probability of becoming a "Gyeokdan-nyeo" (career-interrupted woman) increases after childbirth, young women tend to delay or give up having children.

The lack of work-family balance was cited as a cause. This means that the increase in women's economic participation occurred without changing the past labor market environment that did not consider work-family balance.

The report argued that the probability of career interruption for women with children should be reduced. As alternatives, it suggested expanding telecommuting and shortened work hour systems along with subsidy policies to alleviate time constraints for parents during childcare periods, and increasing the proportion of male participation in early childhood education. In particular, it advised providing support for telecommuting and shortened work hours for more than 10 years to reduce the time burden on parents balancing work and childcare.

Jo Deok-sang, a KDI research fellow, said, "Short-term maternity leave or parental leave systems seem to have reached their limits in reducing women's career interruptions," adding, "It is necessary to lower the employment rate gap for women with children from a long-term perspective."