Confident, cautiously confident or concerned? Working life profiles, capabilities, and expectations for work-family reconciliation among young Finnish women

Abstract

The uncertainties and growing social inequality young adults face in the labour market call for research on the link between young women’s expectations about working life and the real options they have in seeking to combine work with care. Drawing on Sen’s capabilities approach, this study contributes to filling this gap in the literature by examining how women in emerging adulthood in Finland foresee their future career and working life, and how these expectations are associated with socioeconomic and partnership characteristics and their expectations for work-family reconciliation. Survey data obtained from 527 young women aged 18–29 were analysed using latent profile analysis. Three distinct career/working life profiles were identified: confident (43%), cautiously confident (37%) and concerned (20%). The young women in the confident profile were the most advantaged and those in the concerned profile the most disadvantaged with regard to level of education, main activity, financial situation and region. Furthermore, the concerned women foresaw their options in their future career and in combining work with care as limited. The findings underline the importance of viewing individual decision-making processes related to work-family transitions within broader institutional and societal contexts.