Expanding Public Childcare Services for Under-threes. An Empirical Investigation of Maternal Employment and Gender Ideologies in East and West Germany

By focusing on a period that saw a major increase in childcare provision in Germany, this cumulative dissertation investigates whether the provision of childcare services for under-threes is positively associated with maternal employment and a change towards less traditional gender ideology among parents with young children. In three self-contained research articles, the thesis explores, firstly, whether the increase in public childcare provision has facilitated short-term change in individual-level gender ideologies among parents with young children (Chapter 2). Secondly, it analyses whether higher levels of childcare provision were associated with shorter employment interruptions amongst mothers of under-threes (Chapter 3). Thirdly, the thesis investigates whether the association between childcare and maternal part-time or full-time employment varies according to first and second births, mothers’ educational attainment, and whether full-time childcare is available or provision that includes both full and part time places (Chapter 4). By linking rich individual- and household-level data from panel surveys with annual administrative childcare records at the county-level, the three studies apply a micro-macro approach in order to disentangle compositional differences at the individual-level and childcare policy variations at the macro level. Thus, the three studies aim at explaining the relationship between childcare provision and maternal employment as well as the formation of gender ideologies more thoroughly than many previous single country or comparative studies. In sum, the analyses indicate that public childcare provision was positively associated with a change in gender ideologies, as well as shorter employment interruptions and a higher likelihood of employment participation and more working hours among mothers, particularly in West Germany. Thus, the results lend support to the literature on the relevance of institutional change on life course changes in gender ideologies as well the literature on the positive relationship between public childcare provision and maternal employment

Childcare, work or worries? What explains the decline in parents' well-being at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany?

Objective: We examine how care arrangements, general and altered working conditions, and worries influenced subjective well-being at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic for working parents in Germany. Background: Prior research suggests several reasons for declines in subjective well-being, particularly for working mothers. We employ Pearlin's (1989) stress process model to explore the role of parental childcare, altered working conditions and amplified worries of working parents in terms of increased stressors and modified resources to cope with the extraordinary situation. Method: We use data from two starting cohorts from the National Educational Panel Study and its supplementary COVID-19 web survey from spring 2020 to examine possible heterogeneities in contextual factors for individual-level changes in the well-being of working mothers and fathers. Results: We confirm a more pronounced decline in well-being for working mothers than fathers. Part-time work and access to emergency care reduce the gender gap in decreased well-being. Conversely, young children in the household and personal worries are associated with lower well-being for both parents. However, we cannot explain the more significant decrease in mothers' well-being by increased childcare responsibilities or altered working conditions. Conclusion: A greater decline in well-being indicates a particular burden among working mothers. However, it cannot be linked solely to gendered inequalities in the changes of paid and unpaid work during the first months of the pandemic

Who are Leibniz PostDocs and what is it like to work at a Leibniz institute? Report of the first Leibniz PostDoc Survey 2020

Postdoctoral researchers play a critical role in scientific research. This is the case not only for the Leibniz Association but for research worldwide. However, postdoctoral researchers are often overlooked or misrepresented as a homogeneous group of researchers. The principal aim of the Leibniz PostDoc Survey was to understand who Leibniz PostDocs are and to provide some insight into their experiences, interests, and needs. This report summarizes the results of the first Leibniz PostDoc Survey, which was open for submission from July to October 2020. The report includes a summary of the key findings and recommendations as well as a comprehensive description of all results from each survey question

Work-related online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

The COVID-19 pandemic has made access to face-to-face learning opportunities - the most common form of adult learning - impossible. Many firms have scaled back their training investments due to economic uncertainty. One way to fill these gaps is through self-directed learning via the Internet. Learning opportunities via apps and online videos are available flexibly in terms of time and location. But can online learning substitute for the lack of face-to-face courses, especially in the workplace where constant skill updating becomes ever more important? We wanted to know if online learning opportunities were used more in the first months of the pandemic, and if so, for which purposes and by which groups. Using data from the Adult Cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS-SC6) and a supplementary web survey conducted in May and June 2020, we show that the work-related use of online learning was stronger in these months than before the crisis. At the same time, however, educational inequalities in the use of such opportunities were larger than before the pandemic. Thus, the expansion of online learning seems to benefit highly educated workers rather than educationally disadvantaged groups.Die COVID-19-Pandemie hat den Zugang zu Lerngelegenheiten in Präsenz - der häufigsten Form des Lernens im Erwachsenenalter - unmöglich gemacht. Viele Betriebe haben auf Grund der wirtschaftlichen Unsicherheit ihre Weiterbildungsinvestitionen heruntergefahren. Eine Möglichkeit, diese Lücken zu füllen, ist das selbstgesteuerte Lernen über das Internet. Lernangebote über Apps oder Online-Videos sind zeitlich und räumlich flexibel verfügbar. Aber können Onlineangebote das Lernen in Präsenz insbesondere in der Arbeitswelt, die von immer stärkeren Lernanforderungen geprägt ist, ersetzen? Wir wollten wissen, ob Online-Angebote in den ersten Monaten der Pandemie verstärkt genutzt wurden, und wenn ja, zu welchem Zweck und von welchen Gruppen. Mit den Daten der Erwachsenenkohorte des Nationalen Bildungspanels (NEPS-SC6) sowie einer Zusatzerhebung, die im Mai und Juni 2020 durchgeführt wurde, können wir zeigen, dass die berufliche Nutzung von Online-Lernangeboten während der ersten Monate tatsächlich stärker war. Gleichzeitig haben sich Bildungsungleichheiten in der Nutzung solcher Angebote jedoch verstärkt. Von der Ausweitung des Online-Lernens scheinen eher Hochgebildete zu profitieren und nicht "bildungsferne" Gruppen