Child Penalty – Lohneinbußen durch Elternschaft
Wer Kinder hat, wird bestraft? Für viele Eltern, allen voran Mütter, gilt das in der Tat. Schließlich sind sie während der ersten Lebensjahre ihres Nachwuchses häufig gezwungen, ihre Erwerbstätigkeit einzuschränken oder aufzugeben – was sich im Laufe des Arbeitslebens in Form erheblicher Gehaltseinbußen auswirkt. Dieses Phänomen – zunächst meist als „motherhood wage gap“, inzwischen als „child penalty“ bezeichnet – hat sich in den letzten Jahren zu einem volkswirtschaftlichen Trendthema entwickelt.
In diesem Themendossier finden Sie thematisch einschlägige Literatur. Mit dem Filter „Autorenschaft“ können Sie auf IAB-(Mit-)Autorenschaft eingrenzen.
Verwandte Dossiers:
Gender Pay Gap – Geschlechtsspezifische Lohnungleichheit in Deutschland
Female breadwinner – Erwerbsentscheidungen von Frauen im Haushaltskontext
Gender und Arbeitsmarkt
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Literaturhinweis
Homeoffice: Zukunftsvision auf dem Weg zu mehr Gleichberechtigung? (2025)
Zitatform
Alipour, Jean-Victor, Marlene Müller & Nadine Verkühlen (2025): Homeoffice: Zukunftsvision auf dem Weg zu mehr Gleichberechtigung? In: Wirtschaftsdienst, Jg. 105, H. 1, S. 59-63. DOI:10.2478/wd-2025-0017
Abstract
"Der Hauptgrund für die chronisch niedrige Erwerbsbeteiligung von Frauen im Vergleich zu Männern ist die „Child Penalty“. Das Phänomen beschreibt die beruflichen Nachteile, die Frauen nach der Geburt des ersten Kindes erfahren, während Männer keine Einbußen verzeichnen. Wie beeinflusst Homeoffice diese Gender-Ungleichgewichte? Verringert die Arbeit von zu Hause die Unausgewogenheit in Bezug auf Haus- und Sorgearbeit, Erwerbsbeteiligung und Entlohnung? Während die Literatur starke Hinweise liefert, dass Homeoffice die Erwerbsbeteiligung von Frauen fördert und teilweise Lohnungleichheiten verringern kann, ist die Auswirkung in Bezug auf Haus- und Sorgearbeit bislang weitgehend unklar." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
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Literaturhinweis
The large family penalty in Italy: Poverty and eligibility to minimum incomes (2025)
Zitatform
Aprea, Massimo, Giovanni Gallo & Michele Raitano (2025): The large family penalty in Italy: Poverty and eligibility to minimum incomes. In: International Journal of Social Welfare, Jg. 34, H. 1, S. e12668. DOI:10.1111/ijsw.12668
Abstract
"This paper argues that public policies, including minimum income schemes (MIS), should devote specific attention to large families, in terms of both benefits' generosity and targeting, to avoid unfair penalizations. Adopting a child-centered approach to the definition of family size, and using a unique administrative-survey linked database, this study provides two main contributions for the Italian case. First, it documents the consumption-based absolute poverty outcomes according to sibling size, highlighting that large families are overexposed to this specific type of economic deprivation. Second, it investigates to what extent the household size and the number of children tend to be a penalizing factor for social benefit receipt. A key finding is that large families in absolute poverty are penalized in terms of both entitlement and generosity of MIS with the peculiar equivalence scale adopted by the scheme playing a crucial role." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
When Mothers Out-Earn Fathers: Effects on Fathers' Decisions to Take Paternity and Parental Leave (2025)
Zitatform
Biasi, Paola, Maria De Paola & Francesca Gioia (2025): When Mothers Out-Earn Fathers: Effects on Fathers' Decisions to Take Paternity and Parental Leave. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 17601), Bonn, 36 S.
Abstract
"This study investigates the influence of the male breadwinner norm on fathers' decisions regarding childcare responsibilities. We study the complex interplay between economic factors and gender norms in shaping the division of household labor within families by analyzing the impact a breadwinning mother has on fathers' choices regarding paternity leave (fully subsidized) and parental leave (partially or not subsidized). We exploit administrative data, provided by the Italian National Security Institute (INPS), including demographic and working characteristics of both parents together with information on the use of paternity and parental leave by fathers in the 2013-2023 period. We find that, in line with the "doing gender" hypothesis, when the leave is fully subsidized, as for paternity leave, fathers are less likely to engage in childcare when their wives earn more than they do. In contrast, this dynamic does not apply in cases of parental leave, where the economic costs of aligning with the gender norm are substantial. The effects we find are robust when replacing the actual probability of there being an out-earning mother with the potential probability and are amplified by the salience of the gender identity norm." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Parental labor market penalties during two years of COVID-19 (2025)
Zitatform
De Paola, Maria & Salvatore Lattanzio (2025): Parental labor market penalties during two years of COVID-19. In: Review of Economics of the Household, Jg. 23, H. 1, S. 327-355. DOI:10.1007/s11150-024-09728-3
Abstract
"We use a matched employer-employee dataset covering the universe of employees in the Italian private sector to compare labor market outcomes of mothers and fathers during the pandemic. We find that mothers experienced a larger penalty in terms of reduced labor market earnings compared to fathers (−14.1 vs. −6.9 %) in 2020 and the first half of 2021. In contrast, starting from July 2021, we observe similar trends in mothers’ and fathers’ earnings. Evidence highlighting differences in penalties according to the sector of activity (essential vs. non-essential and easiness of access to work from home), the type of contract, the age of children, and the pre-pandemic mother-father pay gap suggests that both demand and supply factors have played a role in explaining the gendered impact of COVID-19." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The Parenthood Penalty in Creative Occupations: How the Covid-19 Pandemic Made Existing Inequalities Worse (2025)
Zitatform
Feder, Tal, Rebecca Florisson, Dave O’Brien, Mark Taylor & Siobhan McAndrew (2025): The Parenthood Penalty in Creative Occupations: How the Covid-19 Pandemic Made Existing Inequalities Worse. In: Work and occupations, S. 1-35. DOI:10.1177/07308884241312897
Abstract
"Creative occupations are well-known for inequalities and exclusions. This article focuses on one such excluded group—creative workers who are the parents of young children—to examine the impact of the pandemic on their creative careers. We use the Household Quarterly Labour Force Survey, a large and nationally representative database of UK workers covering the period of 2015–2021. We run regression analyses to estimate the multidimensional impact of working in the creative field, gender, parenting and the pandemic period. The analysis demonstrates a clear parenthood penalty in creative occupations. For women with young children working in the ‘core’ creative occupations this penalty equates to working around nine fewer hours per week. This penalty is in addition to the general penalty for being a woman parent (25 fewer hours per week). The pandemic saw a further hit to ‘core’ creative parents’ working hours, and mothers suffered the heaviest reduction in working hours. Reduced working hours will exacerbate existing gendered inequalities in creative occupations. Based on the figures presented in the article, more must be done by policy interventions and employer activity to prevent even greater exclusions from creative work for mothers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Harmonizing French and German administrative data on maternal employment: A practical guide how to create comparable data sets from DADS-EDP and SIAB (2025)
Filser, Andreas ; Amend, Inga Marie; Wagner, Sander; Frodermann, Corinna ; Achard, Pascal ; Gaede, Inga;Zitatform
Filser, Andreas, Pascal Achard, Inga Marie Amend, Corinna Frodermann, Inga Gaede & Sander Wagner (2025): Harmonizing French and German administrative data on maternal employment. A practical guide how to create comparable data sets from DADS-EDP and SIAB. (SocArXiv papers), 18 S. DOI:10.31219/osf.io/rcsng
Abstract
"This paper provides a guide how to harmonize large-scale administrative datasets from France (DADS-EDP) and Germany (SIAB) for comparative social science research. France and Germany. While both datasets offer rich, longitudinal information on individual employment trajectories which can be augmented with firm-level information, they differ in structure, sample coverage, and variable coding. Harmonizing these datasets unlocks new potential for comparative research, particularly in examining the labor market trajectories of mothers in both countries. This paper outlines the necessary steps to harmonize these data sources and gives an overview on the set of harmonized variables. The harmonized data is of significant value for researchers, providing a foundation for comparative studies on labor market outcomes in France and Germany, especially in the context of welfare state differences and their importance within the EU and worldwide. The code for harmonization is provided for further adaptation to specific research questions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Weiterführende Informationen
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Literaturhinweis
Perceived fairness and legitimacy of parental workplace discrimination (2025)
Zitatform
Gerich, Joachim & Martina Beham-Rabanser (2025): Perceived fairness and legitimacy of parental workplace discrimination. In: Community, work & family, S. 1-27. DOI:10.1080/13668803.2025.2453175
Abstract
"Parental discrimination has been shown to be related to several risks, including impaired health, increased job stress, and decreased job satisfaction, which calls for increased awareness of parental discrimination. This paper analyzes fairness and legitimacy judgments of unequal treatment based on parental status at work and the antecedents that influence these judgments. Stereotypes of symbolic vilification that suggest lower commitment due to caring responsibilities, and symbolic amplification, which refers to rational economic organizational needs, are expected to rationalize discrimination. Moreover, we expect specific values and ideologies to be related to judgments of fairness and legitimacy, mediated by resonance with symbolic vilification and amplification. Analyses are based on survey data from a sample of employees aged between 20 and 45 years (n = 376). Respondents' evaluations of parental discrimination were measured using two fictional cases. The results suggest that greater acceptance of vilifying and amplifying justifications is triggered by a stronger preference for the ideal worker norm and traditional gender role expectations. Women tend to view discrimination as more unfair and illegitimate than men, while men's judgments are more strongly driven by economic reasoning." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Does the child penalty strike twice? (2025)
Zitatform
Gørtz, Mette, Sarah Sander & Almudena Sevilla (2025): Does the child penalty strike twice? In: European Economic Review, Jg. 172. DOI:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2024.104942
Abstract
"This paper compares the labor market trajectories of grandparents before and after the arrival of their first grandchild. We find gender gaps in earnings of 4 and 10 percent five and ten years, respectively, after the first grandchild. These effects are driven by changes in women’s labor supply at both the intensive andextensive margin. We provide evidence from multiple data sources that grandmothers’ caregiving complements formal daycare, thereby offering essential flexibility for young parents. We document that grandchild penalties were larger in earlier periods characterized by low availability of daycare, shorter parental leave, and an earlier retirement age. Linking register data to geographical variations in daycare centers reveals that local daycare coverage is not associated with grandchild penalties. Detailed time use data show that grandmothers carry larger responsibilities for childcare than grandfathers. Recognizing the complementary nature of grandmaternal childcare is important for the design of policies attempting to reduce child penalties for both mothers and grandmothers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The Parenthood Gap: Firms and Earnings Inequality After Kids (2025)
Zitatform
Jack, Rebecca, Daniel Tennenbaum & Brenden Timpe (2025): The Parenthood Gap: Firms and Earnings Inequality After Kids. (Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute working papers / Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis 110), Minneapolis, MN, 35 S. DOI:10.21034/iwp.110
Abstract
"We document the dynamics of career paths around parenthood, capturing worker advancement within firms and across firms of differing pay. Using a new linkage between administrative data on U.S. workers' fertility and labor-market histories, we show that the parental earnings gap is partly explained by mothers transitioning to lower-paying firms. Firm downgrading is driven by parents who take an extended absence from the labor force. Mothers who move to lower-paying firms see improved job amenities, but less generous fringe benefits. The firm's contribution to the parental earnings gap rises over time and reaches one-third by the child's 11th birthday." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Unpaid Working Time and Disproportionate Female Hazard: an Intersectionality Perspective (2025)
Zitatform
Manicardi, Caterina & Maria Enrica Virgillito (2025): Unpaid Working Time and Disproportionate Female Hazard: an Intersectionality Perspective. (LEM working paper series / Laboratory of Economics and Management 2025/01), Pisa, 36 S. DOI:10.57838/sssa/0v9f-0384
Abstract
"How has the distribution of unpaid working time between men and women evolved over the last twenty years? Does unpaid working time still disproportionately affect women, more than fifty years after the massive entry of the female labor force into formal employment? And, if so, which market and non-market factors drive this stratification and could possibly facilitate the transition out of an unequal intrahousehold division of labor? This paper leverages the most complete dataset collecting individual time diaries, the ATUS-CPS 2003-2022, to investigate the role of market variables such as real wages, household income, industry and occupation vis-a -vis non-market factors such as gender, race, household type and state of residence in explaining variations in unpaid time allocation. By exploiting both the cross-sectional and panel dimensions of the dataset, we provide novel evidence on individual time allocation and its gendered distribution, integrating an intersectional perspective that looks at the role of income classes and socio-material conditions in affecting the likelihood of escaping disproportionate exposure to unpaid work. Our results indicate that, despite clear class-based patterns, belonging to the upper income class is not enough for women to escape disproportionate burdens." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Gender gap in reported childcare preferences among parents (2025)
Zitatform
Pertold, Filip, Sofiana Sinani & Michal Šoltés (2025): Gender gap in reported childcare preferences among parents. In: Review of Economics of the Household, S. 1-17. DOI:10.1007/s11150-025-09764-7
Abstract
"The child penalty explains the majority of gender employment and wage gaps. However, less is known about the factors driving the child penalty itself. In this paper, we explore the gender gap in childcare preferences, a potential contributor to the child penalty. We surveyed parents of young children and elicited the minimal compensation they would require to stay home to care for a child. Mothers require less compensation for childcare than fathers; the estimated gender gap in childcare preferences is CZK 2500 monthly (EUR 100), 7.6% of the median female wage, and cannot be explained by gender differences in labor market opportunities or prosocial motives to care for a family member. We further document a widespread misperception of fathers’ preferences, as respondents incorrectly expect fathers to require less compensation to care for a child than to care for an elderly parent." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Origin, norms, and the motherhood penalty (2025)
Åslund, Olof; Sundberg, Anton; Karimi, Arizo;Zitatform
Åslund, Olof, Arizo Karimi & Anton Sundberg (2025): Origin, norms, and the motherhood penalty. (Working papers / Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy 2025,01), Uppsala, 39 S.
Abstract
"We present evidence that shared institutional and economic contexts may be at least as important as culturally rooted gender equality norms for the size of the motherhood penalty. Our study covers child migrants and children of immigrants in Sweden, and while the results point to a moderate but statistically robust negative association between source country gender equality and the labor market impact of motherhood, the overall picture is more one of similarity across highly diverse groups. All groups of mothers exhibit qualitatively comparable labor market trajectories following first childbirth, but penalties are somewhat greater among those descending from the most gender unequal societies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The Importance of Self-Selection and Childcare Leave Length for Child Penalty (2025)
Zitatform
Österbacka, Eva & Tapio Räsänen (2025): The Importance of Self-Selection and Childcare Leave Length for Child Penalty. In: European Journal of Population, Jg. 41, H. 1. DOI:10.1007/s10680-024-09726-2
Abstract
"Childbirth has consequences for mothers’ labour market outcomes which in turn has consequences for gender differences in pay. In the Finnish context, earnings-related parental leave can be extended with home care allowance which enables mothers to choose their childcare leave length with varying benefit levels. We empirically test the importance of choice of childcare leave length for the subsequent child penalty. We apply Finnish register data with information on the length of childcare leave at the individual and workplace levels. By using workplace comparisons, we can account for some of the endogeneity in choices of workplace, parity, and childcare leave length. By instrumenting the leave length with varying home care allowance levels, we categorise always-takers, never-takers, and compliers. We find that the child penalty is heterogeneous and highly related to the choice of leave length. Always-takers use longer leaves than the workplace average and are penalised, while never-takers use shorter leaves than the workplace average and experience only a mild child penalty. Compliers adjust their leave lengths to the allowance level and experience child penalties in between. These results support that self-selection of childcare leave length has implications for post-birth outcomes and in addition, that family policy can affect the child penalty and the gender gap in pay." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The heterogeneous effects of the first childbirth on women’s income (2024)
Azadikhah Jahromi, Afrouz; Huang, Weige;Zitatform
Azadikhah Jahromi, Afrouz & Weige Huang (2024): The heterogeneous effects of the first childbirth on women’s income. In: Review of Economics of the Household, S. 1-32. DOI:10.1007/s11150-024-09729-2
Abstract
"This study estimates the heterogeneous effects of the first childbirth on mothers ’ annual income, using data from several waves (1979-2018) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Women usually experience an immediate decrease in their income after childbirth, compared to what they would have earned if they had not become mothers. This gap closes somewhat over time, though mothers never fully catch up to their counterfactuals. Previous work tried to explain this “motherhood penalty” by estimating the average treatment effect of children on women’s income; however, these effects can be quite heterogeneous across mothers with different observable characteristics. Instead, our analysis centers on the distribution of the individual-level effects of the first childbirth on mothers’ income, using the Changes-in-Changes model and quantile regression. Identifying the features of this distribution is a challenging task as it requires knowledge of joint distribution. We find that around 73% of mothers have lower income after their first childbirth than they would have had if they had not had a child. These adverse effects are particularly pronounced among 10–20% of mothers. Our quantile regression analysis indicates that the first childbirth most negatively affects older, single/divorced, white, and more educated mothers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Heterogeneity in the US gender wage gap (2024)
Zitatform
Bach, Philipp, Victor Chernozhukov & Martin Spindler (2024): Heterogeneity in the US gender wage gap. In: Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A, Statistics in Society, Jg. 187, H. 1, S. 209-230. DOI:10.1093/jrsssa/qnad091
Abstract
"As a measure of gender inequality, the gender wage gap has come to play an important role both in academic research and the public debate. In 2016, the majority of full-time employed women in the United States earned significantly less than comparable men. The extent to which women were affected by gender inequality in earnings, however, depended greatly on socio-economic characteristics, such as marital status or educational attainment. In this paper, we analyse data from the 2016 American Community Survey using a high-dimensional wage regression and applying double lasso to quantify heterogeneity in the gender wage gap. We find that the wage gap varied substantially across women and that the magnitude of the gap varied primarily by marital status, having children at home, race, occupation, industry, and educational attainment. These insights are helpful in designing policies that can reduce discrimination and unequal pay more effectively." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The role of non-base compensation in explaining the motherhood wage gap: Evidence from Italy (2024)
Zitatform
Badaoui, Eliane, Eleonora Matteazzi & Vincenzo Prete (2024): The role of non-base compensation in explaining the motherhood wage gap: Evidence from Italy. In: Kyklos, Jg. 77, H. 4, S. 873-894. DOI:10.1111/kykl.12393
Abstract
"This paper underlines the importance of accounting for non-base compensation in explaining the motherhood wage gap. We consider two alternative measures of hourly wage using Italian EU-SILC data from 2007 to 2019: the base-wage and the full-wage . The former refers to the contractual base wage, while the latter includes performance-based bonuses, productivity bonuses, commissions, pay incentives, and other extra payments. We address the endogeneity issues of motherhood and examine the effect of motherhood status across various quantiles of the wage distribution for the two hourly wage measures. Empirical findings provide evidence of a motherhood base-wage premium, which becomes nonsignificant when using the full-wage measure, suggesting that non-base compensation is a source of inequality for mothers. These findings are consistent across the wage distribution. Exploring potential heterogeneity across macro-regions and periods, we find no notable regional disparities except minor distinctions for the Southern regions, alongside a decline in the base-wage premium over time and the emergence of a full-wage penalty in recent years. A comparative analysis with a sample of men reveals that fathers enjoy a premium with both wage measures. Nevertheless, fatherhood is also associated with reduced extra remunerations, yet to a lesser extent than motherhood." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Reducing the Child Penalty by Incentivizing Maternal Part-Time Work? (2024)
Zitatform
Baertsch, Laurenz & Malte Sandner (2024): Reducing the Child Penalty by Incentivizing Maternal Part-Time Work? (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 17109), Bonn, 47 S.
Abstract
"Worldwide governments discuss how to increase maternal labor market participation and to reduce the child penalty, i.e. labor market earnings losses after child birth. This study analyses the long run effects of a German paid parental leave reform, which aims to increase maternal labour market participation and to reduce the child penalty by financially incentivizing maternal part-time work during the two years following child birth. Using German social security records, we exploit the fact that only mothers whose child is born in or after July 2015 are eligible for the new part-time PL option in a Difference-in-Differences strategy. We find that the policy increased the probability that high income mothers return to work during the first year after child birth by 2.1 - 2.8pp ( ≈ 15 - 20%). However, the policy does not impact maternal employment along the intensive margin (part-time or full-time work) in the long run, leaving maternal labor market participation and the child penalty unaffected." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The Long-Run Effects of California's Paid Family Leave Act On Women's Careers and Childbearing: New Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design and U.S. Tax Data (2024)
Zitatform
Bailey, Martha J., Tanya Byker, Elena Patel & Shanthi Ramnath (2024): The Long-Run Effects of California's Paid Family Leave Act On Women's Careers and Childbearing: New Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design and U.S. Tax Data. (IZA discussion paper / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit 16756), Bonn, 44 S.
Abstract
"We use administrative tax data to analyze the cumulative, long-run effects of California's 2004 Paid Family Leave Act (CPFL) on women's employment, earnings, and childbearing. A regression-discontinuity design exploits the sharp increase in the weeks of paid leave available under the law. We find no evidence that CPFL increased employment, boosted earnings, or encouraged childbearing, suggesting that CPFL had little effect on the gender pay gap or child penalty. For first-time mothers, we find that CPFL reduced employment and earnings roughly a decade after they gave birth." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Trapped in the care burden: occupational downward mobility of Italian couples after childbirth (2024)
Zitatform
Barbieri, Teresa, Michele Bavaro & Valeria Cirillo (2024): Trapped in the care burden: occupational downward mobility of Italian couples after childbirth. (GLO discussion paper / Global Labor Organization 1475), Essen, 36 S.
Abstract
"How does childbirth impact the career paths of men and women within the same household? To what extent does the unpaid care work related to this event contribute to the downward mobility experienced by women in a highly flexible labour market like Italy? Drawing on feminist and labour market studies, this article examines how caregiving responsibilities, particularly childcare, influence downward employment transitions for men and women in couples, specifically from full-time to part-time, from higher-paid to lower-paid jobs, and from employment to unemployment. The study also employs latent class analysis to map out variations in within-household inequality experienced after childbirth among couples. To achieve this, we utilize a unique survey-administrative linked dataset. The findings highlight significant penalties faced by women, not only immediately after childbirth but persisting for up to three years afterwards. Moreover, the latent class analysis reveals a small proportion of pro-female households compared to egalitarian and pro-male classes." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
The motherhood wage and income traps (2024)
Zitatform
Barigozzi, Francesca, Helmuth Cremer & Emmanuel Thibault (2024): The motherhood wage and income traps. In: Journal of Population Economics, Jg. 37, H. 4. DOI:10.1007/s00148-024-01053-4
Abstract
"We present a simple dynamic model based on on-the-job human capital accumulation affecting the dynamic of wage rates and labor earnings. The model can generate and explain the different dynamics of women’s earnings after childbirth documented in the empirical literature on child penalties. We show that the temporary negative shock in labor supply due to childbearing may create a wage trap and a permanent divergence of labor earnings between genders. Even when the wage trap is avoided, and working mothers are on a path toward a high-wage equilibrium, slow convergence can permanently reduce earnings. We use this model to study the impact of different policies on the gender wage gap and child penalties. We show that mandatory maternal leave exacerbates the shock which pleads against long leaves. Similarly, cash transfers to mothers aggravate gender wage differences via the income effect on labor supply. By contrast, temporary subsidies to mothers’ wages (possibly inthe form of income tax credits) are not only useful to exit the wage trap, but also to speed up recovery and reduce the child penalty when the shock in labor supply is small enough to avoid the wage trap. Other family policies, like childcare subsidies and in-kind provision of formal childcare, are potentially useful because they reduce the mothers’ cost of labor supply, but they affect mothers’ choices only indirectly." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © Springer-Verlag) ((en))