Abstract
Objective: This research article investigates the relationship between parenthood and wages, considering the partner's gender and the influence of employers on wage trajectories for birth and non-birth mothers and fathers.
Background: It offers a novel examination whether the gender of the partner affects the wage outcomes for birth mothers and explores the differential impact of employers on wages for birth and non-birth mothers, using Dutch register data.
Method: Utilizing OLS regression, Heckman selection, and fixed-effects models, this study focuses on all Dutch couples who had their first child between 2008 and 2014 in the Netherlands, from two years prior to the birth until two years after birth.
Results: Consistent with human capital theory, the findings reveal a consistent and unfavourable wage development for birth mothers, regardless of whether they are in same-sex couples or different-sex couples. The wage development for non-birth mothers in female same-sex couples resembles that of fathers, showing a more positive trajectory compared to birth mothers. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that employers do not differentiate in their treatment of birth and non-birth mothers, suggesting that biological constraints associated with motherhood impact wages of birth mothers, while both their male and female partners’ wages do not decline.
Conclusion: The study contributes to the existing literature in family sociology, highlighting the need for policies and interventions that address the specific challenges faced by birth mothers in the labor market.
Background: It offers a novel examination whether the gender of the partner affects the wage outcomes for birth mothers and explores the differential impact of employers on wages for birth and non-birth mothers, using Dutch register data.
Method: Utilizing OLS regression, Heckman selection, and fixed-effects models, this study focuses on all Dutch couples who had their first child between 2008 and 2014 in the Netherlands, from two years prior to the birth until two years after birth.
Results: Consistent with human capital theory, the findings reveal a consistent and unfavourable wage development for birth mothers, regardless of whether they are in same-sex couples or different-sex couples. The wage development for non-birth mothers in female same-sex couples resembles that of fathers, showing a more positive trajectory compared to birth mothers. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that employers do not differentiate in their treatment of birth and non-birth mothers, suggesting that biological constraints associated with motherhood impact wages of birth mothers, while both their male and female partners’ wages do not decline.
Conclusion: The study contributes to the existing literature in family sociology, highlighting the need for policies and interventions that address the specific challenges faced by birth mothers in the labor market.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 66-84 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Journal of Family Research |
| Volume | 36 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Mar 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024, Mustafa Begenc Tascanov. All rights reserved.
Funding
This paper is based on the first author’s master’s thesis in M.Sc. Sociology and Social Research (2017-2019). The analysis was mostly conducted during a research internship at Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The authors thank Statistics Netherlands, as well as participants of the RC28 2019 conference, Marie Evertsson and two anonymous reviewers of JFR for their feedback. This work was funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, ERC Consolidator Grant (no. 771770) awarded to the principal investigator Marie Evertsson.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Horizon 2020 Framework Programme | |
| European Research Council | 771770 |
Keywords
- administrative data
- discrimination
- labour market income
- motherhood
- parenthood
- same-sex couples
- wage penalty