Gender Differences in Occupational-career Interruptions: a Comparison of the United States, Sweden, and Poland

This book addresses the following research question: are there cross-national gender differences in the patterns and consequences of occupational-career interruptions? Interruptions include unemployment, illness/disability, parental leave, household time, care for other, schooling, retirement, and military service. To account for cross-national differences, I analyze panel survey data for the each country, U. S., Sweden, and Poland. Statistical techniques include descriptive statistics and change models. The results suggest a gendered nature to most interruptions. Interruptions can be gender-neutral (schooling, retirement, unemployment, and illness), female-specific (parental leave, household time, and caring for others), or male-specific (military service). Women and men experience variation in the consequences of the interruptions, depending on the interruption and institutional context. The greatest amount of gender equality in the wage consequences for unemployment and illness in Sweden, the least amount of gender equality in Poland, and in the United States, there is less gender equality than in Sweden but more than in Poland.