Childlessness and Fertility Dynamics of Female Higher Education Graduates in Germany

Abstract

This article addresses the process of family formation of female higher education graduates in Germany. From a life course perspective, we examine different graduation cohorts and analyse the transition to motherhood using event history methods. The empirical analysis is based on the panel studies of higher education graduates conducted by the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW). We find that only a small proportion of graduates make the transition to motherhood while in education. Among eastern German graduates of the older cohorts, this proportion is considerably higher. After graduation the fertility behaviour depends to a large extent on career development and occupational position. Having a stable employment status has a positive effect on having a child. However, also long periods of precarious employment and insecure occupational prospects increase the inclination to start a family. While we find that the fertility behaviour of highly qualified eastern German and western German women has converged in recent years, we also observe that differences between these two groups persist.