Study identifies top reason for wage gap

What’s the No. 1 reason for the wage gap between male and female workers?

Parenthood.

So suggests a recent study from the Pew Research Center that examined employment data from the monthly current population surveys conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau between January 1982 and December 2022. The analysis indicated that the wage gap between male and female employees jumps significantly between the ages of 35 and 44.

For instance, the numbers show that women who were ages 25 to 34 in 2010 made 92% of what men of the same age made. However, by 2022, the same group of women, who were now ages 37 to 46, earned only 84% of what men of the same age earned. Researchers noted that the pay gap widens at the ages when women are more likely to have children.

Pew Research suggested that parenthood prompts some women to put their careers on hold. For instance, in 2022, 70% of mothers ages 25 to 34 had a job or were looking for one, compared with 84% of women of the same age who didn’t have children at home.

The analysis also revealed that not only do fathers ages 25 to 54 make more than mothers of the same age do, but they also earn more than male workers who don’t have children at home do – the researchers called it the fatherhood wage premium.

What to do: Make sure the men and women on your crew are paid similar wages for similar work, whether or not they have children.

(From the July 28, 2023, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)