The Battle for Balance: How German Couples’ Time Division across Various Life Spheres Shapes Childbirth Transitions

Giovanni Minchio, University of Trento
Chen-Hao Hsu , University of Bamberg
Henriette Engelhardt, Univers

Post-industrial European societies face persistently low fertility alongside heighten tensions in how couples allocate finite time across paid work, unpaid domestic labour, and childcare. Time conflicts between work and childcare, as well as perceived unfairness in time arrangements between partners, can negatively impact childbirth transitions and parity progression. Yet, earlier studies mainly focused on the distinction between paid and unpaid labour. This study advances the literature by examining the multidimensional gender division of time and its association with second-birth transitions among different-sex couples. Using longitudinal couple-level data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP, 1990–2020), we analyse 2,514 couples after the birth of their first child. Cox proportional-hazard models estimate the relationship between partners’ differences in daily time use across six spheres: paid work, childcare, housework, errands, repairs, and leisure. Preliminary findings reveal divergent patterns across time domains. When mothers spend more time in paid work relative to their partners, the likelihood of a second birth tends to be lower. Conversely, mothers’ greater involvement in childcare, housework, and errands corresponds to higher second-birth hazards, though the strength of these associations differs across domains. Time differences in repairs and leisure show no clear linear associations, though supplementary analyses suggest a possible inverse U-shaped relationship for leisure time equity. Our study underscores the importance of incorporating a broader array of time-use dimensions to understand how gendered divisions of labour shape fertility behaviour, particularly as family policies and cultural norms continue to evolve.

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 Presented in Session 5. Flash Session Parenthood, Childbearing, and Family Formation