Part-time employment versus underemployment of mothers and women in Spain

This article analyses the main factors that determined the employment situation of mothers and women in Spain in 2014 and 2018, distinguishing between full-time employment, part-time employment, underemployment due to insufficient hours and unemployment. The results for Spain, obtained by using a novel methodology that improves on previous models, contradict several theoretical arguments on the determinants of maternal employment. Moreover, the simulation conducted also shows that when the partner is employed, mothers are more likely to work in part-time jobs (to balance work and family life), and that women without children are more likely to work full time.