This works investigates parental employment patterns in Great Britain as well as in eastern and western Germany, and their changes over time. First, the study analyses maternal labour market behavior with a specific focus on differences by partnership status during the 1990s and 2000s. In a...

Acknowledgments -- The opt-out narrative -- Changes in employment policies and cultural attitudes -- Employed mothers become the norm -- Doctors or dishwashers? : a look at who opts out -- Opting to stay : schedule flexibility and reduced work hours -- Does age matter? -- The motherhood wage gap...