Bridging Across the Gap: A Comparative Analysis of Flexible Workplace Schedule Policies in the United Kingdom and United States and Their Effect on Women’s Labor Market Participation

Abstract

Women’s labor market participation is affected by the competing demands that they face at work and at home. Although women’s presence in the workforce increased in the second half of the twentieth century, recent decades have also seen a rise in the amount of time mothers spend taking care of their children. Existing literature suggests that women face a tradeoff between the workplace and home responsibilities. These challenges appear across countries as women take on both responsibilities, but policy approaches differ between the United States and the United Kingdom. This thesis explores the impact of flexible work scheduling policies on mothers’ work force participation and hours by evaluating the impacts of a 2002 United Kingdom policy providing additional flexibility. To do so, I make use of two longitudinal birth cohorts - the United States’ Future of Families and Child Well-Being Study and the United Kingdom’s Millennium Cohort Study. The analysis draws on data from 2001-2006 to assess the impact of the 2002 policy. How does job flexibility play a role within women’s lives? Overall, how do flexible work arrangements impact mother’s labor participation in the United Kingdom vs the United States when their children are young? Using a difference-in-differences design, this study found that the United Kingdom Flexible Working Act in 2002 increased the odds of women in the workforce and full-time employment, suggesting the implementation of the policy had a positive effect on women in the workforce in the United Kingdom. I conclude by considering the implications for US policy.