To Have It All ? Career and Family of College-Educated Women in an Emerging Economy

Elghafiky Bimardhika and Daniel Zefanya Halim

No 11326, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Can college-educated women in rapidly developing economies balance career and family, or does compressed economic growth polarize their choices? This paper investigates how Indonesian women navigate these dual objectives across birth cohorts from the 1950s to the 1990s. It utilizes 38 years of Labor Force Survey data to examine aggregate cohort patterns and five rounds of Indonesia Family Life Survey panel data to trace individual life-cycle trajectories. The paper documents increasing polarization among younger cohorts, which either delay marriage and stay in the labor force or opt out of the labor force altogether post-marriage. The paper traces this divergence to two concurrent trends. First, more women enter time-demanding, high-skilled professions traditionally dominated by men. Second, rising conservatism among young men creates marriage market frictions, leaving educated women with stark choices: conform to conservative family expectations by leaving work, or prioritize careers while delaying or forgoing family.

Date: 2026-03-02
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