How do mothers work? Kin coresidence and mothers' work in Latin America

BACKGROUND While the employment of mothers has received considerable scholarly attention, the potential role of coresidence with kin for fostering mothers' work remains underdeveloped. OBJECTIVE We assess the relationship between kin coresidence, as well as the gender and employment status of kin on mothers' employment, and hours of work. Further, we compare Brazil and Peru, two South American, upper-middle-income countries with divergent patterns of household structure. METHODS Using nationally representative surveys from Brazil and Peru, we estimate linear probability models and Tobit regressions predicting mothers' employment and hours of work. RESULTS We find a positive association between kin coresidence and mothers' work outcomes. This association differs by the gender and employment status of kin. Our findings show the association between kin coresidence is stronger in Peru than in Brazil. CONCLUSIONS Scholarly work has shown that mothers shoulder most of the unpaid family work, imposing constraints on their opportunities in the labor markets. Coresident kin can help ease these diverging demands. Our results also suggest that the social norms that shape household arrangements may also influence support provided by coresident relatives.