ABSTRACT

In this paper, we employ a comparative life course approach for Canada and Germany to unravel the relationships among general and vocational educational attainment and different life course activities, with a focus on labour market and income inequality by gender. Life course theory and related concepts of ‘time,’ ‘normative patterns,’ ‘order and disorder,’ and ‘discontinuities’ are used to inform the analyses. Data from the Paths on Life’s Way (Paths) project in British Columbia, Canada and the German Pathways from Late Childhood to Adulthood (LifE) which span 28 and 33 years, respectively, are employed to examine life trajectories from leaving school to around age 45. Sequence analysis and cluster analyses portray both within and between country differences – and in particular gender differences – in educational attainment, employment, and other activities across the life course which has an impact on ultimate labour market participation and income levels. ‘Normative’ life courses that follow a traditional order correspond with higher levels of full-time work and higher incomes; in Germany more so than Canada, these clusters are male dominated. Clusters characterised by ‘disordered’ and ‘discontinuous’ life courses in both countries are female dominated and associated with lower income levels.

摘要

在本文中，我们采用加拿大和德国的比较生命历程方法来阐明普通和职业教育程度与不同生命历程活动之间的关系，重点关注劳动力市场和性别收入不平等。生命历程理论和“时间”、“规范模式”、“有序与无序”和“不连续性”等相关概念用于为分析提供信息。来自加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省的Paths on Life's Way (Paths)项目和从童年晚期到成年的德国之路 (LifE) 的数据分别跨越 28 年和 33 年，用于研究从辍学到 45 岁左右的人生轨迹。 序列分析和聚类分析描绘了国家内部和国家之间在教育程度、就业和其他方面的差异——尤其是性别差异。影响最终劳动力市场参与和收入水平的整个生命过程中的活动。遵循传统顺序的“规范”生活课程与更高水平的全职工作和更高的收入相对应；在德国比加拿大更多，这些集群以男性为主。在这两个国家，以“无序”和“不连续”生命历程为特征的集群以女性为主，并且与较低的收入水平相关。