Time use, family role-set and childbearing among Italian working women

The endurance of the traditional role-set within couples is suggested to be a factor explaining Italian lowest-low fertility. Family time use before and after childbearing has been investigated, using retrospective data on 3,300 mothers living in five cities. The hypothesis that low gender equity reduces the probability of having one more child has been tested.
Results confirm that implications of a birth are still negative in term of gender equality; fatherhood increases time devoted to work, motherhood time spent on childcare or housekeeping. However, a progressive adaptation towards gender equity is evident among a selected proportion of dual-earning couples, influencing positively the probability of having another child. Possible effects of gender policies on fertility are finally discussed.