Flexibility, security or nothing? Women’s job characteristics and fertility in Russia

Based on the findings of previous empirical research, we can assume that differences between sectors and jobs in terms of security and flexibility of female employment might be important for fertility decisions. This relationship may arise because job characteristics influence the childbearing decision-making process directly or because women sort themselves into jobs based on their childbearing preferences. We aim to assess whether a relationship between job characteristics and fertility exists in Russia, a low fertility context, which can result from both directions of causality. We study the transition from childlessness to the first birth as well the transition to a second birth; the decline in second childbirths can account for a major part of the fertility decline in Russia, but postponement of childbearing can reduce the probability of subsequent births later as well. Our main research questions are the following: (1) To what extent do the intentions to and behavior of having a 1st and 2nd child correlate with women’s job characteristics? (2) Which job characteristics are more related to fertility intentions –flexibility, less working hours or job security after childbirth? Preliminary findings reveal that job characteristics and sectors are more related to the timing of the first birth than to having a second birth.