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Cited by 198Gender, Labor, and Family DynamicsLabor market dynamics and wage inequalityWork-Family Balance Challenges

The motherhood wage penalty: A meta-analysis

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Cukrowska-Torzewska, Ewa, Matysiak, Anna·2020·Social Science Research
DOI 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2020.102416
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Abstract

Mothers tend to receive lower wages than comparable childless women. This 'motherhood wage gap' has been reported in numerous studies. We summarize the existing empirical evidence on this topic using meta-analysis and test for several mechanisms which can be responsible for the persistence of the wage gap. Based on 208 wage effects of having exactly one child and 245 wage effects of the total number of children, we find an average motherhood wage gap of around 3.6-3.8%. While the gaps associated with the total number of children are mostly explained by the loss of mothers' human capital during child-related career breaks, the gaps associated with one child are predominantly driven by mothers' choice of jobs and occupations that pay less. The residual gap is smallest in Nordic countries, where public policies actively support gender equality and reconciliation of work and family, as well as Belgium and France, and largest in the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Anglo-Saxon countries.

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  • Mothers may face professional setbacks or unpaid labor due to their parental status, which exacerbates existing gender biases.

    “Economic. Mothers may face professional setbacks or unpaid labor due to their parental status, which exacerbates existing gender biases (36–38).”

    From A critical need for the concept of matrescence in perinatal psychiatry (2024) · cites this paper as [36]

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Sorted by citations

Authors
Cukrowska-Torzewska, E., & Matysiak, A.
Affiliations
Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT)
ORCID
Matysiak, Anna
Venue
Social Science Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-05
Volume
88-89
Pages
102416
ISSN
0049-089X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.ssresearch.2020.102416
OpenAlex
W3011666006
Cited by
198
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 30 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 6
FWCI
5.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Social Science Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • ReIn UW (University of Warsaw) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Work-Family Balance Challenges
Keywords
motherhood penalty, women's wages, childbearing, number of children, human capital loss, career interruption, career choice, gender equality, work-family balance, cross-national comparison, Nordic countries, post-communist states
MeSH terms
Europe, Eastern, Family Relations, Female, Humans, Mothers, Occupations, Salaries and Fringe Benefits

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