US EditionThe Motherhood Penalty: Mothers Earned 35% Less than Fathers in 2024
- In 2024, mothers working full-time who have kids under 18 received a median income of $56,680, whereas fathers in the same situation earned a median of $76,388, highlighting a pay disparity of 35%.
- This wage gap widened from 31% in 2023 and stems from caregiving responsibilities that disproportionately fall on women, forcing many to reduce hours or accept lower-paying flexible jobs.
- Bankrate's analysis of Census Bureau data shows that mothers often face stalled career growth, frequent missed promotions, and shifts to part-time work that they are overqualified for to balance family duties.
- The study estimates that if the gap persists, full-time working mothers could earn roughly $600,000 less than fathers over 30 years, making it harder to reach financial milestones like retirement savings or home purchases.
- Meanwhile, full-time fathers with children earn about 25% more than childless men, with no apparent parenthood penalty, a disparity experts attribute to entrenched social stereotypes about gender roles.
30 Articles
30 Articles
The Fort Morgan Times
The motherhood penalty: Mothers earned 35% less than fathers in 2024
By Alex Gailey, Bankrate.com Since having her first child in 2015, certified public accountant Katie Thomas has repeatedly asked herself the same impossible question: career or family? Following a layoff six months after having her first child, Thomas decided to start her own business because she needed more flexibility to juggle caregiving and her career. Three years later, her daughter slightly older, she decided to reenter the workforce to wo…
bristolworld.com
manchesterworld.ukThe Open University breaks down workplace barriers for mothers returning to work
As the UK marks Mental Health Awareness Week, a powerful new initiative from The Open University (OU) is shining a spotlight on a long-overlooked issue: the mental health impact of the “motherhood penalty.”
We need to go beyond Pay Parity to support working Mums and Dads
While the pay parity debate rages, and we should rightfully have the legislation back, it simply doesn’t go far enough if we are going to be honest about the greatest factor ins pay parity, that women leave te workforce to have babies! At the centre of the Gender Pay Gap is the biological reality women carry the babies. If we as a liberal progressive society want to ensure everyone has equal agency, then surely recognising biological reality is …
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