Publications

Research indicates that the uptake of formal childcare for children under age 3 is lower among migrant origin parents than among native parents in most European countries, and that these differentials extend to the second generation. Despite considerable investments in formal childcare availability in many European countries, it remains unclear whether and to what extent expanding local childcare availability effectively diminishes ...

In recent decades, many Western European countries introduced parental leave policies to support the work–family combination in families with young children. However, these parental leave schemes often exhibit employment‐based eligibility criteria, so the question arises to which extent social inequalities emerge in the access to parental leave, and as a result thereof also in the uptake of parental leave. Although research on parental leave ...

Objective: we explore migrant-native differentials in the uptake of formal and informal childcare and whether this is induced by lower demand for childcare versus differential access to (in)formal childcare compared to natives. Background: The rise in female labour market participation in recent decades has challenged parents to negotiate work and family responsibilities and organise childcare. Belgium is among the European countries with the ...

A sizeable body of literature has shown that the migrant-native employment gap is larger among women with children than among childless women, suggesting that the transition to parenthood has a stronger impact on the employment trajectories of migrant origin women compared to those of native women. However, due to the limited use of longitudinal data, our understanding of the mechanisms generating differential employment trajectories around the ...