Probability of Women Leaving Work After Marriage:
A Literature Review
Isra Yeni
*
, Joan Marta
2*
, Hari Setia Putra
3
, Melti Roza Adry
4
, Dewi Zaini Putri
5
,
Doni Satria
6
, Yollit Permata Sari
7
, Urmatul Uska Akbar
8
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6, 7, 8
Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia
*
Corresponding author. Email: jomarta01@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
This study aims to analyse empirical studies regarding about the probability of women focusing on taking care of the
household or remaining in the labour market after marriage. The method used in this research is descriptive method
and explorative method from various literature reviews. Information obtained is related to economic, social, and
demographic variables. A review of literature reviews shows variables such as children under five years of age,
economic variables such as husband's income, education variables, women's working hours, and the area where
women live affect the probability of women leaving the labour market after marriage.
Keywords: Women, Labor market, Household, Marriage.
1. INTRODUCTION
Working women is common in modern era. Women
equally have the right to enter the labour market so that
women can choose to have dual roles as housewives as
well as working women [1].The entry of women into the
workforce makes women independent. Independence to
seek income that can increase the welfare of the woman.
The independence of seeking income that is owned by
women can increase women's ability to make the best
decisions, [2]. With this independence, women are
found in all types of work sectors. However, after
marriage, women have a dilemma whether they keep
working or leaving workforce to focus on taking care of
the household. Some of the married women do not
participate in the labour market. This is because some of
the married women will focus on taking care of the
household.
Married women have several reasons for whether to
stay in work or leave the labour market. Women who
choose to keep working are generally because the cost
of leaving the labour market is greater than staying in
the labour market [3]. Women who have higher
education or have high human capital pay a large
amount of money to obtain this education, so that if they
leave the labour market, the opportunity Cost is greater.
In addition, women who remain in the labour market are
generally affected by the low income earned by their
husbands [4].
Research conducted by [5] explains that women who
are in low-income households will tend to remain in the
labour market. This is because the income earned in the
household is not sufficient for household needs so that
the wife will help her husband to find additional
income, so that the wife remains in the labour market.
[6] explains that there is a preference theory used to
explain women's preferences towards the labour market.
Women who choose to work, choose to take care of the
household and choose to be adaptive (take care of the
household while working). Women who focus on
working will tend to continue working full time after
marriage and after giving birth. Women who focus on
taking care of the household will leave the labor market
after marriage and after giving birth. On the other hand,
women who choose to be adaptive are women who are
married and have children who will continue to work
part-time (flexible time) so that they can remain
responsible with household chores [7].
Many factors influence a woman's decision to keep
working or choose to leave the labour market after
marriage. [8] explain that the main reason a wife leaves
the labour market after marriage is because she has
children under five. Toddlers need a lot of time with
their mothers to support their child's growth and
development, so a mother will choose to focus on giving
all her time to be with her child. [9]explains that in
Japan, women who are married and have children under
five find it difficult to divide their time between
working and taking care of the household. Many
Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research, volume 179
Proceedings of the Sixth Padang International Conference On Economics Education,
Economics, Business and Management, Accounting and Entrepreneurship (PICEEBA 2020)
Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press B.V.
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license -http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. 187