Giving Compass' Take:
- Chabeli Carrazana discusses the gender pay gap, examining why mothers earn less after having kids, while dads earn more.
- What are the root causes of the gender pay gap? What can you do to help dismantle gender stereotypes around parenting?
- Read more about the gender pay gap.
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While having children often leads to less pay for mothers, fatherhood leads to an increase: Men with children typically earn more than both women — with or without kids — and men without children. This parenthood paradox, at least in part, may be responsible for maintaining the gender pay gap, which has been consistent for 20 years.
Gender stereotypes around parents are so deeply embedded into American work culture that they have had a significant impact in not just how mothers are treated in the workplace, but in how employers compensate fathers, according to a new study of census data by the Pew Research Center, released Wednesday. Data was not collected on nonbinary people, so they were not part of the analysis.
Men tend to increase their work hours and receive a bonus when they have children, a phenomenon known as the “fatherhood wage premium.” Women, meanwhile, experience the “motherhood penalty,” which studies have found is closely tied to conscious or subconscious bias against mothers, who may be viewed by employers as less competent or committed to the job.
Read the full article about the gender pay gap by Chabeli Carrazana at The 19th.