Empirical Analysis of Career Patterns and Factors Influencing Job Separation and Re-employment Choices for Married Women
Ms. Yijun Nie of Japan Women's University presented an empirical analysis on career patterns of married women. The study revealed a higher risk of job separation in their 30s, while continuous employment increased from their 40s onwards, highlighting the importance of employment insurance and training for career development.
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- 📰 Published: April 30, 2026 at 20:00
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Yijun Nie, a doctoral student in the Social Welfare program at the Graduate School of Human Sciences, Japan Women's University (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President: Satoko Shinohara), who is scheduled to complete her studies in academic year 2025, conducted an empirical analysis as part of her doctoral dissertation research. She investigated factors influencing job separation, job change, and continued employment among married women, using data from the "National Survey on Employment Status Panel Survey" from 2016 to 2023. The results showed that while the risk of job separation tends to be relatively high in their 30s, the rate of continued employment increases from their 40s onwards, and diversification of job changes was also observed. Furthermore, it became clear that support conditions such as enrollment in and receipt of "employment insurance" as income security, as well as education and training, and learning activities, are deeply related to women's career formation. This research was conducted under the guidance of Professor Akiko Nagai of the Department of Social Welfare, Faculty of Human Sciences, during her enrollment in the graduate school, and its findings were published in the Journal of Social Policy, a publication of the Japan Society for Social Policy.
Japan Women's University newly established the "JWU Career Life Center" in 2026 to comprehensively support the career formation and life design of its students and graduates. The results of this research empirically demonstrate how support should be provided to assist women's life events and career formation, offering important insights for the initiatives of the Center.
Figure 1: Career Patterns of Married Women by Age (2016-2023)
[Key Points of the Announcement]
- Employment behavior of women during periods overlapping with life events such as childbirth and childcare: As shown in Figure 1, the transition rate to job separation and unemployment is relatively high for women aged 30-39, especially for those with a youngest child aged 0-5 years, who are more likely to transition to job separation and unemployment compared to women with children aged 12 years or older. On the other hand, from age 40 onwards, the rate of continued employment increases, and a certain degree of job change is observed for both regular and non-regular employees.
- Strong institutional support: Enrollment in and receipt of "employment insurance" as income security is an important factor supporting career formation after job separation. It was shown that the probability of women changing jobs to regular employment is approximately 3.5 times higher than continuing their current job.
- Paradox of in-company training: As shown in Figure 2, off-the-job training (OFF-JT) can increase the probability of changing jobs to regular employment by approximately 1.7 times. Conversely, for women who received on-the-job training (OJT), while the probability of changing jobs to regular employment also increased by approximately 1.7 times, the probability of changing jobs to non-regular employment reached approximately 2.7 times. Both OJT and OFF-JT are necessary training for women's career formation, and the difference in their effects may be related to the reproduction of women's so-called "peripheral placement" in the Japanese labor market.
Spontaneous learning activities such as reading and internet research are also related to acquiring practical skills and preparing for job changes, indicating a need for enhanced support measures for women's career formation.
Figure 2: Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) of Key Variables: Continued Employment as Baseline = 1
[Overview]
This research focuses on the career patterns of married women and empirically analyzes factors influencing four choices: continued employment, job separation and unemployment, job change to regular employment, and job change to non-regular employment, using data from the "National Survey on Employment Status Panel Survey" from 2016 to 2023. Traditionally, research on married women's employment has often focused on job separation due to childbirth or re-employment. However, when considering career formation according to individual wishes and family circumstances, it is necessary to pay attention not only to continued employment or job separation but also to the option of "job change" to a more suitable workplace. Therefore, this research distinguishes between "job separation" and "job change" and further compares them, including the employment type of the new job. The analysis revealed that family responsibilities during childcare, previous employment type, employment insurance, education and training, and learning activities are closely related to career choices.
(1) What was known from previous research
Previous research has accumulated several important findings regarding the employment behavior of married women. First, career interruption due to marriage, childbirth, and childcare has been repeatedly confirmed as a major factor in job separation, and the age of the youngest child and the presence or absence of children have been shown to significantly affect continued employment. In addition, individual and household attributes such as educational background and husband's income have been pointed out as factors related to the timing of job separation and re-employment.
Regarding education and training and institutional support, enrollment in employment insurance and utilization of education and training benefit systems have been empirically shown to increase the probability of transitioning from non-regular to regular employment. Furthermore, spontaneous learning activities such as reading and internet use have been shown to have a positive effect on women's re-employment.
(2) What this research newly aimed to achieve and revealed
On the other hand, much of the research on women's employment behavior has analyzed either "job separation" or "re-employment" individually, and a perspective that simultaneously compares and comprehensively covers diverse career choices such as continued employment, job separation and unemployment, and job change (regular and non-regular employment) has not been sufficiently examined until now.
Japan Women's University newly established the "JWU Career Life Center" in 2026 to comprehensively support the career formation and life design of its students and graduates. The results of this research empirically demonstrate how support should be provided to assist women's life events and career formation, offering important insights for the initiatives of the Center.
Figure 1: Career Patterns of Married Women by Age (2016-2023)
[Key Points of the Announcement]
- Employment behavior of women during periods overlapping with life events such as childbirth and childcare: As shown in Figure 1, the transition rate to job separation and unemployment is relatively high for women aged 30-39, especially for those with a youngest child aged 0-5 years, who are more likely to transition to job separation and unemployment compared to women with children aged 12 years or older. On the other hand, from age 40 onwards, the rate of continued employment increases, and a certain degree of job change is observed for both regular and non-regular employees.
- Strong institutional support: Enrollment in and receipt of "employment insurance" as income security is an important factor supporting career formation after job separation. It was shown that the probability of women changing jobs to regular employment is approximately 3.5 times higher than continuing their current job.
- Paradox of in-company training: As shown in Figure 2, off-the-job training (OFF-JT) can increase the probability of changing jobs to regular employment by approximately 1.7 times. Conversely, for women who received on-the-job training (OJT), while the probability of changing jobs to regular employment also increased by approximately 1.7 times, the probability of changing jobs to non-regular employment reached approximately 2.7 times. Both OJT and OFF-JT are necessary training for women's career formation, and the difference in their effects may be related to the reproduction of women's so-called "peripheral placement" in the Japanese labor market.
Spontaneous learning activities such as reading and internet research are also related to acquiring practical skills and preparing for job changes, indicating a need for enhanced support measures for women's career formation.
Figure 2: Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) of Key Variables: Continued Employment as Baseline = 1
[Overview]
This research focuses on the career patterns of married women and empirically analyzes factors influencing four choices: continued employment, job separation and unemployment, job change to regular employment, and job change to non-regular employment, using data from the "National Survey on Employment Status Panel Survey" from 2016 to 2023. Traditionally, research on married women's employment has often focused on job separation due to childbirth or re-employment. However, when considering career formation according to individual wishes and family circumstances, it is necessary to pay attention not only to continued employment or job separation but also to the option of "job change" to a more suitable workplace. Therefore, this research distinguishes between "job separation" and "job change" and further compares them, including the employment type of the new job. The analysis revealed that family responsibilities during childcare, previous employment type, employment insurance, education and training, and learning activities are closely related to career choices.
(1) What was known from previous research
Previous research has accumulated several important findings regarding the employment behavior of married women. First, career interruption due to marriage, childbirth, and childcare has been repeatedly confirmed as a major factor in job separation, and the age of the youngest child and the presence or absence of children have been shown to significantly affect continued employment. In addition, individual and household attributes such as educational background and husband's income have been pointed out as factors related to the timing of job separation and re-employment.
Regarding education and training and institutional support, enrollment in employment insurance and utilization of education and training benefit systems have been empirically shown to increase the probability of transitioning from non-regular to regular employment. Furthermore, spontaneous learning activities such as reading and internet use have been shown to have a positive effect on women's re-employment.
(2) What this research newly aimed to achieve and revealed
On the other hand, much of the research on women's employment behavior has analyzed either "job separation" or "re-employment" individually, and a perspective that simultaneously compares and comprehensively covers diverse career choices such as continued employment, job separation and unemployment, and job change (regular and non-regular employment) has not been sufficiently examined until now.