The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the ongoing struggle for parents—especially mothers—to balance careers and childcare. New research from Dartmouth College sheds light on why the gender earnings gap widens after women become mothers and why it remains even after children grow up.
Studies consistently show that mothers face diminished earnings for at least a decade after childbirth. Even when they return to full-time work or take on more career responsibilities, mothers often fail to close this “parental gender gap.”
“From a societal perspective, losing half of its potential workforce to the career-family tradeoff is a cost society may not afford,” the researchers note. “It’s critical to explore ways to give women a broader set of choices.”
Why the Gap Widens
Building on their earlier findings from 2017, the researchers identified two major factors behind the post-baby pay gap:
- Shifts to Lower-Paying Firms: Mothers often move to flexible jobs with lower salaries to balance family responsibilities.
- Reduced Career Advancement: Even within firms, mothers face fewer promotions and benefits as they prioritize childrearing.
The latest research highlights another contributor: the fatherhood premium. Fathers, especially college-educated men in demanding professions, often receive higher salaries, bonuses, and promotions compared to non-fathers. This is tied to societal norms positioning men as primary financial providers.
Fathers typically work longer hours, which enhances their perceived commitment, while mothers face penalties for entering male-dominated, high-paying fields like medicine or management. Women in these roles are disproportionately punished for mistakes, such as managers being let go more often or surgeons receiving fewer referrals than their male counterparts.
The Policy Challenge
The researchers argue that solving the issue goes beyond increasing women’s workforce participation. Policies like parental leave and quality childcare are critical but insufficient in isolation.
- Parental Leave: While paid leave is essential, too much leave can harm career prospects. Extended leaves—up to three years—may result in lost promotions and make employers hesitant to hire young women, fearing extended absences.
- Childcare Access: Affordable, high-quality childcare is fundamental for keeping women in the workforce. For middle- and lower-income families, dual incomes have been shown to improve children’s outcomes significantly.
Lessons from History
The researchers analyzed the impact of the Lanham Act of 1940, the U.S.’s first and only universal childcare program. This initiative, created during World War II, established nurseries for over half a million children to enable women to join the workforce. However, the program’s limited scope and late rollout hindered its ability to significantly increase female employment.
Future research will focus on whether the children who benefited from such programs saw lasting positive effects. “It’s easy to compute the cost of childcare,” the authors note. “What’s harder is estimating the broader benefits, especially for children in middle- to lower-income families, where quality childcare complements the additional income from both parents working.”
Addressing the parental gender gap requires a multi-faceted approach. Paid leave policies must strike a balance, and robust childcare systems are vital to supporting working mothers. Beyond financial costs, policymakers must consider the long-term societal benefits of enabling parents—especially mothers—to thrive in both their professional and personal lives.
