Contextualizing the Education Effect on Women’s Employment: A Cross-National Comparative Analysis

The study examines how and why the effect of education on women’s employment varies crossnationally. First, we present a theoretical model that (a) outlines the micro-level mechanisms underlying education effects on women’s employment in the couple context and (b) proposes contextual moderators at the country level. Second, we test the theoretical model against survey data from the United Nations Generations and Gender Programme for five European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, and Norway). The data comprise 10,048 educationally homogamous heterosexual couples involving a woman aged 20-45. Our results indicate that more highly educated couples are more likely to have dual-earner arrangements in each country, yet the strength of education effects varies substantially between countries and across the family life-cycle. In contrast to prior work, we find that education effects are not generally smaller in countries that are supportive of women’s employment. This relation only holds for later childrearing phases.