300431 Women Work and Family in the World (S) (SoSe 2026)

Women are often expected to fulfill two roles at once: as mothers responsible for childcare and as workers sustaining their families economically. These roles frequently conflict, and they shape one another. Gender norms that assign care to women can restrict mothers’ employment opportunities, while employment undertaken out of necessity under conditions of poverty can undermine the time and resources needed for childcare. These tensions are especially acute in the Global South. Poverty and segmented labor markets push many mothers into precarious work, while public support through parental leave, childcare services, and family allowances often reaches only a small share of women workers. This seminar introduces mothers’ lives in the Global South, focusing on economic opportunities and women’s position within families, and examines the demographic and economic factors that structure the work–family trade-offs women face.