Women's happiness levels based on labour force status in Türkiye: a pseudo-panel perspective

Abstract

This article examines the impact of mainly being in different labour force statuses on women's happiness levels in Türkiye. Other predictors include educational level, household income and what makes one the happiest. Ordered logistic regression models are used by implementing a pseudo-panel approach. Findings demonstrate that unemployed women are less likely to be happier relative to women in paid work. There is a statistically significant higher likelihood for housewives to report being happier compared to employed women throughout the years for the same cohort, which could be associated with the (socially structured) fulfilment brought about by the conformity to traditional gender roles in a context where these norms are widely adopted, and concurrently the circumstances diminishing working women's happiness at home and in the job market. The probability to report being very happy is the highest for highly educated housewives who have a high level of household income, yet it decreases over time for the cohort observed. Findings refer to the importance of enhancing the well-being of women in paid work via supporting equal domestic division of labour patterns and improving their conditions in the labour market.