Having Kids Is Terrible for Women’s Earning Power

This article quantifies what many of us have seen happening in our lives (or in the lives of our better halves). “At the beginning of their careers, men’s and women’s income are practically equivalent. By the time everyone’s in their mid-40s, women on average make as little as 55 percent of what men do.
Claudia Goldin, an economics professor at Harvard University and an expert on the gender pay gap…her research finds that women often pull back from their careers because their unpaid work—raising and caring for a child—becomes more demanding. In a 15-year study of MBA students at the University of Chicago, Goldin and her colleagues found that the pay gap started to widen a year or two after a woman had her first child. “These women are extraordinarily driven and dedicated to what they’re doing,” she said. “They’re trying as hard as they can, but at some point, the demands of home are really getting to them.”… According to research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women spend more time on more days of the week caring for their children than men do. They also spend more time on domestic duties such as cleaning and laundry.”
Unfortunately, for women their reduction in working hours post-motherhood has a non-linear impact on their earnings: “Those additional responsibilities often lead women to limit the time they spend at their paying jobs…Women’s attempts to deal with these dueling demands are often mistaken for a lack of dedication or ambition in their careers. That perception also contributes to the gender pay gap, Goldin says.“The difference in hours is not that large,” she said. “But the penalties are very, very large.”

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If you want to read our other published material, please visit https://marcellus.in/blog/

Note: The above material is neither investment research, nor financial advice. Marcellus does not seek payment for or business from this publication in any shape or form. The information provided is intended for educational purposes only. Marcellus Investment Managers is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and is also an FME (Non-Retail) with the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) as a provider of Portfolio Management Services. Additionally, Marcellus is also registered with US Securities and Exchange Commission (“US SEC”) as an Investment Advisor.