Working in the public sector has many advantages - but up until now it has not been widely known that it was the best place to have a baby.
New research by the Economic and Social Research Council at the University of Oxford examined patterns of employment and childbearing decisions for couples over a number of years, and found that the decision to have one or more children was intricately bound up with the working patterns of parents.
The relative security of employment in the public sector, together with a more 'family friendly' ethos in the private sector, both in the UK and Italy, is thought to foster fertility.
'The public sector tends to offer a guaranteed job to return to, a career progression more linked to seniority and more flexible hours and time off to care for sick children', Dr Tiziana Nazio, on of the report's authors explains.
'The results show that the decision to have a child is often far from straightforward, especially for women. There is a strong link between women's employment and fertility but not between men's work and fertility. 'Women's decisions about both work and having children seem to be linked to values, beliefs and other characteristics which are not measured in surveys, whereas men have children regardless of their orientation towards work,' she says.
"However, we did find a strong link between the pattern of men's careers and women's and it is also clear that children are more likely to be born in situations where it is easier for women to move in and out of the labour market, or to reduce their working hours for a period."
Contrary to expectations, the research revealed that temporary employment contracts, which are increasingly common for both men and women, do not put couples off parenthood. "Part-time employment, on the other hand, has a positive effect on childbirth, which may have been a key factor in sustaining British fertility,' says Nazio.
The study also reveals that the effect of redundancy on household working patterns is polarised. In some cases, where a man repeatedly loses his job, his wife quits hers as well. In other cases, the wife goes back to work to shield the family from falling into poverty.
"The behaviour is related to household type. Women with more qualifications may find it easier to find work, but those in low-paid jobs may be financially better off not working if their partner loses his job," says Nazio.
