The motherhood wage penalty: A meta-analysis

Cukrowska‐Torzewska, Ewa; Matysiak, Anna

doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2020.102416

Cited by 73 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Past research largely agrees on the existence of wage penalties for mothers and on the presence of multiple individual and context-level mechanisms (Anderson, Binder, & Krause, 2002Budig & England, 2001;Cukrowska-Torzewska & Matysiak, 2020;Gangl & Ziefle, 2009;Waldfogel, 1997Waldfogel, , 1998aWaldfogel, , 1998b. Because causality is oftentimes difficult to claim as fertility would need to be randomized, most studies cannot fully preclude selectivity of mothers into lower paid positions before childbirth or a preference for positions with lower pay after childbirth.…”

Section: Causalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural legacies and the motherhood penalty: How past societal contexts shape mothers’ employment outcomes in reunified Germany

Collischon¹,

Eberl²,

Reichelt³

2020

Preprint

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Motherhood penalties vary strongly across societal contexts. While most studies that aim to explain such differences focus on institutions, a smaller literature refers to the influence of cultural norms or a complex interaction between the two. Empirically, however, it is yet unclear if such norms play a role and how they—jointly with institutions—contribute to motherhood penalties. We make use of a unique historical setting that allows us to assess how societal contexts affect maternal work preferences and labor market outcomes in the short- and long-run. Germany’s division into socialist East and parliamentary democratic West led to considerably different gender norms. But German reunification in 1990 mostly realigned gendered institutions. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we show that East and West German mothers’ preferred and realized labor force participation and working hours nevertheless remain divergent. We then focus on East German women who moved to the West during and after the country’s transitionary period. Despite moving to a context with more conservative gender norms, East German mothers in the West retain and fulfill their work preferences. Our findings imply that it is the structural legacy of past norms and institutions, not current ones, that shapes maternal work preferences and thus pave the way for motherhood penalties. Moreover, societal norms at the time of childbirth do not directly affect mothers’ labor force participation, working hours, or wages. Gendered outcomes in the labor market are thus highly dependent on institutional and normative changes across cohorts.

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Section: Causalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural legacies and the motherhood penalty: How past societal contexts shape mothers’ employment outcomes in reunified Germany

Collischon¹,

Eberl²,

Reichelt³

2020

Preprint

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“…1 This gender disparity is partially due to the fact that women are more likely to be poor, be employed in low-wage and part-time jobs, and often take on unpaid labor including caring for children, older family members, and house work. 3,4 Women are also more likely to take on the role of feeding the family, which includes foregoing food themselves in order to prevent depriving their children of food. 5 There exists a racial disparity in food security in the US, with significantly higher rates of racial and ethnic minorities suffering from food insecurity.…”

Section: Food Insecurity In United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pregnant and hungry: addressing food insecurity in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Dolin

Compher

et al. 2021

American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM

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“…Opportunity costs for child-care leaves vary among women with different types of labor market attachments. In a recent meta-analysis, Cukrowska-Torzewska and Matysiak (2020) show that the wage penalty can generally be explained by the deterioration of human capital due to child-care leaves.…”

Section: Theoretical Framework and Previous Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Back to work or stay at home? Family policies and maternal employment in Finland

Österbacka

Räsänen

2021

J Popul Econ

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The employment effects of family policies depend on the mother’s labor market attachment and on the age of the child. We study the effects of child home care (cash-for-care) and private day care allowances on mothers’ return to employment after childbirth. Our identification strategy exploits changes in municipal-level subsidies. We find that higher private day care allowances have no effect while higher home care allowances increase the length of home care. A 100-euro higher level of home care allowance prolongs home care by 2–3 months, on average. The home care allowance combined with low labor market attachment and low earnings potential pre-birth delay the return to employment. However, the effect of the allowance diminishes over time. Higher subsidies have no impact by the time a child turns two. Reductions in subsidies stimulate a faster return to employment.

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The motherhood wage penalty: A meta-analysis

Cited by 73 publications

References 77 publications

Structural legacies and the motherhood penalty: How past societal contexts shape mothers’ employment outcomes in reunified Germany

Structural legacies and the motherhood penalty: How past societal contexts shape mothers’ employment outcomes in reunified Germany

Pregnant and hungry: addressing food insecurity in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Back to work or stay at home? Family policies and maternal employment in Finland

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