"For many women in the U.S. and around the world, motherhood comes with career costs. Raising children tends to lead to lower wages and fewer work hours for mothers - but not fathers - in the United States and around the world. As a sociologist, I study how family relationships can shape your economic circumstances. In the past, I've studied how motherhood tends to depress women's wages, something social scientists call the " motherhood penalty.""
"Using administrative data from Statistics Denmark, a government agency that collects and compiles national statistics, we studied the long-term effects of motherhood on income for 104,361 Danish women. They were born in the early 1960s and became mothers for the first time when they were 20-35 years old. They all became mothers by 2000, making it possible to observe how their earnings unfolded for decades after their first child was born."
Motherhood commonly reduces women's wages and work hours, creating a persistent motherhood penalty not experienced by fathers. Denmark provides extensive supports such as subsidized childcare from six months of age with parents covering no more than 25% of costs, paid parental leave, and child allowances. Administrative records for 104,361 Danish women born in the early 1960s who became mothers at ages 20–35 by 2000 show sizable earnings declines for mothers, including an average loss near $9,000 in the first year. State benefits raise mothers' income and offset roughly 80% of average earnings losses, though substantial gaps remain.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]