Von Dr. Keonhi Son und Dr. Aysegul Kayaoglu aus dem Projekt A06 "Familienpolitik: Sozioökonomische Outcomes und Policy-Lernen" wurde kürzlich ein Artikel in dem Journal "World Development" veröffentlicht. Im Fachartikel stellen sie die in der Arbeitsökonomie verbreitete Auffassung infrage, dass Herausforderungen bei der Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie ausschließlich in Ländern mit hohem Einkommen auftreten, in denen viele Frauen im formellen, sozialversicherungspflichtigen Sektor beschäftigt sind. Dieser Beitrag beinhaltet die ersten Forschungsergebnisse aus der Phase III, welche das Teilprojekt aus dem Projektantrag entwickelt hat.
Hidden work-family challenges in the low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review of causes, consequences, and policy responses [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2026.107349]
Abstract:
Work–family challenges are a major barrier to gender equality and contribute to the intergenerational reproduction of inequalities by undermining child development from the earliest stages of life. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), however, these tensions remain poorly captured by prevailing metrics, data, and frameworks. Drawing on a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies published between 2000 and 2024, this article shows that motherhood penalties in LMICs are expressed through poverty-driven sectoral shifts into lower-quality jobs, heightened time poverty and what we term a work-family trade-off, where maternal employment in precarious conditions is associated with worse child health and developmental outcomes. We synthesize evidence on how micro-, meso- and macro-level factors jointly shape these patterns and highlight a “flexibility trap”: informal and agricultural jobs that appear compatible with caregiving in theory often deepen work-family tensions in practice. We then review empirical evidence on three family policy domains (i.e., paid leave, cash transfers, and early childhood education and care (ECEC)) showing that ECEC most consistently improves both women’s employment quality and child outcomes, while cash transfers primarily ease poverty-driven labor responses and paid leave yield mixed effects in high-informality settings. Building on these findings, we develop a conceptual framework that locates “poverty-driven work-family challenges” at the center of LMIC experiences. The review concludes with design principles for family policies and a research agenda that better captures hidden work-family tensions in LMICs.
World Development is a multi-disciplinary monthly journal of development studies. It seeks to explore ways of improving standards of living, and the human condition generally, by examining potential solutions to problems such as: poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, disease, lack of shelter, environmental degradation, inadequate scientific and technological resources, trade and payments imbalances, international debt, gender and ethnic discrimination, militarism and civil conflict, and lack of popular participation in economic and political life.
Kontakt:
Dr. Aysegul Kayaoglu
Mannheimer Zentrum für europäische Sozialforschung (MZES)
A5, 6
68159 Mannheim
E-Mail: ayseguel.kayaoglu@uni-mannheim.de
Dr. Keonhi Son
Mannheimer Zentrum für europäische Sozialforschung (MZES)
A5, 6 (Gebäudeteil A)
68159 Mannheim
Tel.: +49 621 181-2803
E-Mail: son@uni-mannheim.de
