<p>Commuting tends to vary over an individual’s life course: Looking specifically at women entering motherhood, they tend to reduce their commute when transitioning to parenthood. Almost one in three of the mothers surveyed by Thomas Skora, Heiko Rüger & Nico Stawarz (German Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)) reduced their commuting distance substantially after the birth of the first child, leading to significant wage cuts.</p>
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<p>A study by Helen Kowalewska (Oxford University) and Agnese Vitali (University of Trento) suggests it is time for policies to recognise the economic fragility of female-breadwinner couples. The gendered division of paid and unpaid work within couples has transformed across industrialised countries in recent decades. In analysing this change, policymakers and academics have endorsed the ‘social investment’ agenda, promoting a shift from male-breadwinning to ‘dual-breadwinning’ among partners.</p>