Zenaida R. Ravanera

Early life transitions of Canadian women: a cohort analysis of timing, sequences, and variations.

This paper looks into the timing and sequences of early life transitions of Canadian women using data from the 1995 General Social Survey of Family. Six events occurring in early adulthood are examined: school completion, first job, home-leaving, first cohabitation, first marriage, and first birth. Our analysis of birth cohorts spanning 60 years shows that the biggest changes in timing occurred in school completion and start of work; that the trajectories involving work before marriage have gained popularity among later cohorts; and that education appreciably delays early life transitions.

Social Status Polarization in the Timing and Trajectories to Motherhood

This paper examines the polarization by social status of Canadian women’s timing and trajectories to motherhood. The study applies event history analysis on data gathered through the 2001 General Social Survey on Family History and focuses on women born from 1922 to 1980. Women with high social status are more likely to delay their entry into motherhood and to follow normatively preferred trajectories that include graduation from post-secondary education. In contrast, women with low social status are more likely to follow shorter routes, often bypassing graduation from post-secondary education, regular work, or marriage, and consequently become mothers at younger age.

Youth Integration and Social Capital: An Analysis of the Canadian General Social Surveys on Time Use.

Integration is social cohesion measured at the individual level. This article examines three of its dimensions—inclusion, participation, and belonging—using data gathered from the General Social Surveys on Time Use. It describes the inclusion and participation of Canadians aged 15 to 29 years in 1986, 1992, and 1998; examines differences by age group and gender; and explores the effects of human and social capital of individuals, families, and communities on integration.

The Early Life Courses of Canadian Men: Analysis of Timing and Sequences of Events

This paper focuses on the transition to adulthood of Canadian men born from 1916 to 1975. Through a life course framework, six early life events - school completion, work start, home-leaving, cohabitation, first marriage, and first birth - are examined using data from the 1995 Canadian General Social Survey of the Family. The trends in the timing and spread of each event, the length of transition to adulthood, and the trajectories to marriage indicate that the early life courses of Canadian men have changed tremendously with more diversified family behaviours and significant increases in ages at school completion and at start of regular work.

Family Policies in Quebec and the Rest of Canada: Implications for Fertility, Child-Care, Women's Paid Work, and Child Development Indicators

Étant donné sa situation démographique particulière, et sa volonté de choisir lui-même son avenir, le Québec a adopté, avec le temps, des politiques familiales très différentes de celles du reste du Canada. Le Québec utilisant le droit civil (plutôt que le common law comme ailleurs au pays), le mariage n’y a pas le même caractère que dans les autres provinces, et d’autres formes d’unions y existent depuis assez longtemps. La popularité croissante de l’union libre ou union de fait (« cohabitation » en anglais) ainsi que l’attention plus importante portée aux questions familiales ont amené le Québec à se donner un modèle nordique alors que le reste du Canada a un modèle libéral. Les programmes québécois en matière de garde des enfants (depuis 1977) et de congés parentaux (depuis 2006) sont par exemple très différents de ce que l’on retrouve dans les autres provinces. Le modèle nordique a aussi permis au Québec d’éviter une fécondité particulièrement faible. Ses politiques en matière de garde d’enfants ont été conçues à la fois pour améliorer le bien-être des enfants et pour favoriser l’emploi des femmes. Les comparaisons que nous avons faites entre le Québec et d’autres provinces indiquent que l’emploi rémunéré chez les femmes a profité de ces mesures; en ce qui a trait aux indicateurs de développement des enfants, les conclusions sont moins positives – cela est peut-être dû aux faits que des programmes universels ne permettent pas de se consacrer autant qu’il le faudrait aux enfants de milieux défavorisés, chez lesquels une intervention précoce a beaucoup plus d’impact.

Early Life Transitions of Canadian Youth: Effects of Family Transformation and Community Characteristics

This paper looks at the impact of family transformation and community characteristics on the timing and sequences of early life transitions of Canadians born in 1971-75. Using event history techniques of analysis, the effects on school completion, start of regular work, and home-leaving are examined using a data set that merged the 1995 General Social Survey of the Family with data derived from the enumeration areas of the 1996 Census. The results show that family disruption impacts negatively on the transition to adulthood. And, mother=s work status and community-level characteristics indicative of availability of material resources and opportunities have significant effect on the timing of transition to adulthood mainly through longer period of education.

Changes in Economic Status and Timing of Marriage of Young Canadians

Using the longitudinal panel data collected through the Canadian Surveys of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) from 1993 to1998, we examined the hypotheses that (a) higher education delays marriage; (b) labour force participation and earnings of women, like those of men, increase the likelihood of marriage; and, (c) the magnitude of the effects of education and income varies by life course stages of the youth. Analyses were done for men aged 17-19, 20-22, and 23-25 and for women aged 15-17, 18-20, and 21-23 at the start of the panel surveys. Our findings confirm our hypotheses, namely, a longer stay in school lowers the risk of marrying while greater economic well-being increases the risk. The results also show that the effects of wages and salaries are strongest among the middle cohorts of men (20-22) and women (18-20) who are at the stage of forming their own independent lives.

The Changing Impact of Women’s Educational Attainment and Employment on the Timing of Births in Canada

This study examined the influence of maternal birth cohort on the timing and risk of childbearing in Canada. The analysis considered the impact of education and paid employment marital status contraceptive use region of residence country of birth and religious affiliation. The analysis relied on bivariate and multivariate models and the interactions between education and employment. Data were obtained from the 1995 General Social Survey of Canada among 3519 women of all marital statuses aged 18-49 years. The sample was stratified according to birth cohort. Bivariate results reveal that level of attainment was related to a negative linear relationship to proportions having a birth at all ages. Higher education was associated with lower proportions giving birth. A higher proportion at any educational level proceeded to a second birth. Second births were less strongly related to educational level. The negative effect of education on first and second parities was strongest among younger age groups at the highest educational level. Full-time regular employment was associated with increased proportions of women having first or second births. Multivariate analysis reveals that employment and education had the strongest impact on timing of births. Employment prior to a birth increased the risk of first and second births for all ages except the oldest group of second parity women. Education at first birth had a strong and significant negative impact on the risk of birth with controls for other factors. The greatest impact was among the youngest ages. Findings suggest a changing relationship over time between womens education and fertility.

Family Change and Implicationsfor Family Solidarity and Social Cohesion

Social cohesion can be viewed in terms of common projects and networks of social relations that characterize families, communities and society. In the past decades, the basis for family cohesion has shifted from organic to mechanical or from breadwinner to collaborative model. As in many Western countries, data on family change in Canada point to a greater flexibility in the entry and exit from relationships, a delay in the timing of family events, and a diversity of family forms. After looking at changes in families and in the family setting of individuals, the paper considers both intra-family cohesion and families as basis for social cohesion. Implications are raised for adults, children and public policy.

Family Models for Earning and Caring: Implications for Child Care and for Family Policy

Canadian families have changed, in part due to an economy that provides more work opportunities for women, and a cultural orientation that values equal opportunity and diversity in families. In spite of the change, both quantitative and qualitative evidence suggest a continued preference for mothers to spend considerable time with children, especially in the infant and toddler years. Thus, in an average couple, the presence of young children in the home brings wives to reduce their paid work and husbands to increase their paid work. Our reading of parental preferences suggests an interest in more services for young children in the form of early childhood education and child care, but also an interest in policies that would allow parents to spend more time with children through parental leaves, part-time work with good benefits, and subsidies that supplement market income. Many options available to two-parent families are often less feasible for lone parents, giving a higher priority to child care.