Changes in Parental Leave Policy and their Relationship with Female Wage Workers’ Employment Status

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between changes in the parental leave system, pre-childbirth job characteristics, and women's short-term, medium-term, and long-term employment decisions in South Korea. The analysis was conducted using logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression methods, utilizing data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS). The analysis results show that in the short term, regardless of the timing of parental leave system changes, there is a high likelihood of maintaining the original job when using parental leave. However, in the medium to long term, only users of parental leave after the recent changes have a high likelihood of maintaining their original job. Among pre-childbirth job characteristics, the size and type of companies, occupations, and wages show differences in maintaining the original job after childbirth. In particular, wages exhibit some interaction effects with the timing of parental leave.