The Influence of Parental Employment Status on Children's Labor Outcomes does the Gender of Parents and Children Matter?

This paper investigates the influence of parental employment status during adolescence on adult children’s labour outcomes across European country groups, according to the gender of both parents and children. Our aim is to examine whether this influence is stronger within mother–daughter and father–son relationships or whether mothers play a role also for the employment outcomes of their sons and fathers for their daughters. Using EU-Silc data, we estimate the extent to which parents’ employment during children’s adolescence affects their employment status at around 30 years of age. Empirical findings show that having had a working mother reduces the likelihood of being NEET for both sons and daughters in all country groups, except in Nordic countries, with effects of similar magnitude. The effects of fathers’ working condition are less widespread across countries. Where present, the influence of paternal employment on daughters’ outcomes is much smaller than on sons’ outcomes. From a policy perspective, in almost all countries, fostering mothers’ employment, not only when children are young but also during their adolescence, might have important consequences for both their sons’ and daughters’ future employment prospects.