The Impact of Job Autonomy on Women's Job Continuation at the Stage of Childbirth

Abstract

In this paper, I investigate “job autonomy,” defined as the extent to which employees exercise discretion in their work, and discuss the impact of job autonomy on women’s job continuation at the stage of childbirth and childcare. I found out that highly-educated women or women with clerical jobs enjoy job autonomy. If women workers, especially highly-educated women have job autonomy, they can manage their own schedule more easily. This leads to job continuation at the stage of childbirth. Further, this study also shows that length of working hours does not necessarily determine job continuation.