Life Course Patterns of Female Migrants in Germany: The Interplay of Employment and Fertility Trajectories Around Arrival

Cristina Samper Mejia

This paper illustrates the interrelation of migrant women’s employment and family formation biographies. It draws on data from the German Socio Economic Panel. The analytical sample includes women who have migrated to Germany between 1990-2010. We employ sequence analysis to map employment and family formation trajectories in the corridor 3 years before and 6 years after migration. By means of cluster analysis, we identified five predominant employment trajectories. We illustrate that “non-employment trajectories” are closely related to family formation behavior of women. Furthermore, third country nationals (TCN) are very likely to follow extended non-employment spells after arrival. This lack of contact with the labor market tends to be paralleled by parental responsibilities, as these women often experience the transition to a first or a higher order birth around migration.

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 Presented in Session 7. Migration & Urbanization