IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp18140.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Unequal Motherhood Penalty: Maternal Preferences and Education

Author

Listed:
  • Carnicelli, Lauro

    (LABORE Labour Institute for Economic Research)

  • Morando, Greta

    (University of Sheffield)

Abstract

We study how maternal preferences interact with education to shape the motherhood penalty. Using rich Finnish registry data and the quasi-random gender of the firstborn child, we show that mothers across education groups display a mild preference for daughters, reflected in their fertility and parental leave choices. Yet this shared preference translates into divergent long-run outcomes. Ten years after birth, highly educated mothers face a 10\% larger earnings penalty if their firstborn is a son, whereas less educated mothers experience slightly higher penalties with daughters. These differences stem from distinct labor market adjustments: less educated mothers are marginally more likely to exit employment after having a daughter, while highly educated mothers with daughters disproportionately move into public-sector jobs, which offer a relative wage premium. Our findings demonstrate that similar parental preferences can generate contrasting long-term earnings dynamics across education groups, highlighting the role of maternal preferences and labor market sorting in shaping the motherhood penalty.

Suggested Citation

  • Carnicelli, Lauro & Morando, Greta, 2025. "The Unequal Motherhood Penalty: Maternal Preferences and Education," IZA Discussion Papers 18140, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18140
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp18140.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jérôme Adda & Christian Dustmann & Katrien Stevens, 2017. "The Career Costs of Children," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(2), pages 293-337.
    2. Jørn Rattsø & Hildegunn E Stokke, 2024. "Public sector wage compression and wage inequality: gender and geographic heterogeneity," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 76(3), pages 722-740.
    3. Virtanen, Hanna & Silliman, Mikko & Kuuppelomäki, Tiina & Huttunen, Kristiina, 2024. "Education, gender and family formation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 126841, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/3t1fcs7p369jmaalnboqhpgknn is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Valentina Melentyeva & Lukas Riedel, 2023. "Child Penalty Estimation and Mothers’ Age at First Birth," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 266, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    6. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2019. "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 181-209, October.
    7. Ghazala Azmat & Rosa Ferrer, 2017. "Gender Gaps in Performance: Evidence from Young Lawyers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(5), pages 1306-1355.
    8. Claudia Goldin, 2025. "Babies and the macroeconomy," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 92(367), pages 675-700, July.
    9. Younghwan Song & Jia Gao, 2023. "Correction: Do fathers have son preference in the United States? Evidence from paternal subjective well-being," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1119-1125, September.
    10. Sieppi, Antti & Pehkonen, Jaakko, 2019. "Parenthood and gender inequality: Population-based evidence on the child penalty in Finland," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 5-9.
    11. Mathias Jensen & Abigail Adams & Barbara Petrongolo, 2024. "Birth Timing and Spacing: Implications for Parental Leave Dynamics and Child Penalties," Economics Series Working Papers 1048, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    12. Joseph G. Altonji & Richard K. Mansfield, 2018. "Estimating Group Effects Using Averages of Observables to Control for Sorting on Unobservables: School and Neighborhood Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(10), pages 2902-2946, October.
    13. James, Jonathan & Vujić, Sunčica, 2019. "From high school to the high chair: Education and fertility timing," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-24.
    14. Ichino, Andrea & Lindström, Elly-Ann & Viviano, Eliana, 2014. "Hidden consequences of a first-born boy for mothers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 123(3), pages 274-278.
    15. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn & Peter Brummund & Jason Cook & Miriam Larson-Koester, 2020. "Is there still son preference in the United States?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 709-750, July.
    16. Tuuli Paukkeri & Terhi Ravaska & Marja Riihelä, 2024. "Examining inequalities: from labour markets to social outcomes in Finland," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 225-241, June.
    17. Angrist, Joshua D & Evans, William N, 1998. "Children and Their Parents' Labor Supply: Evidence from Exogenous Variation in Family Size," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 450-477, June.
    18. Shelly Lundberg, 2005. "Sons, Daughters, and Parental Behaviour," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 21(3), pages 340-356, Autumn.
    19. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/3t1fcs7p369jmaalnboqhpgknn is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Matthias Doepke & Fabian Kindermann, 2019. "Bargaining over Babies: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(9), pages 3264-3306, September.
    21. Luis Guirola & Laura Hospido & Libertad González, 2024. "Fathers' Time-Use while on Paternity Leave: Childcare or Leisure?," Working Papers 1463, Barcelona School of Economics.
    22. Silvia Helena Barcellos & Leandro S. Carvalho & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2014. "Child Gender and Parental Investments in India: Are Boys and Girls Treated Differently?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 157-189, January.
    23. Ghazala Azmat & Rosa Ferrer, 2017. "Gender Gaps in Performance: Evidence from Young Lawyers," SciencePo Working papers hal-03391951, HAL.
    24. Bhalotra, Sonia & Clarke, Damian & Nazarova, Angelina, 2025. "The Daughter Penalty," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 756, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    25. Borooah, Vani K., 2004. "Gender bias among children in India in their diet and immunisation against disease," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(9), pages 1719-1731, May.
    26. Patricia Cortés & Jessica Pan, 2023. "Children and the Remaining Gender Gaps in the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(4), pages 1359-1409, December.
    27. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Gabriel Leite-Mariante, 2023. "The Child Penalty Atlas," Working Papers 2023-16, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    28. Petter Lundborg & Erik Plug & Astrid Würtz Rasmussen, 2017. "Can Women Have Children and a Career? IV Evidence from IVF Treatments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1611-1637, June.
    29. Maczulskij, Terhi, 2013. "Employment sector and pay gaps: Genetic and environmental influences," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 89-96.
    30. Gunnar Andersson & Karsten Hank & Marit Rønsen & Andres Vikat, 2006. "Gendering family composition: Sex preferences for children and childbearing behavior in the Nordic countries," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(2), pages 255-267, May.
    31. Barbara Boelmann & Anna Raute & Uta Schönberg, 2021. "Wind of Change? Cultural Determinants of Maternal Labor Supply," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 090, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    32. Seema Jayachandran & Ilyana Kuziemko, 2011. "Why Do Mothers Breastfeed Girls Less than Boys? Evidence and Implications for Child Health in India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(3), pages 1485-1538.
    33. Nikolay Angelov & Per Johansson & Erica Lindahl, 2016. "Parenthood and the Gender Gap in Pay," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(3), pages 545-579.
    34. Barbara Boelmann & Anna Christina Raute & Uta Schönberg, 2021. "Wind of Change? Cultural Determinants of Maternal Labor Supply," CESifo Working Paper Series 9094, CESifo.
    35. Claudia Goldin, 2014. "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1091-1119, April.
    36. Bütikofer, Aline & Jensen, Sissel & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2018. "The role of parenthood on the gender gap among top earners," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 103-123.
    37. Younghwan Song & Jia Gao, 2023. "Do fathers have son preference in the United States? Evidence from paternal subjective well-being," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1083-1117, September.
    38. Dasgupta, Kabir & Diegmann, André & Kirchmaier, Tom & Plum, Alexander, 2022. "The gender reveal: The effect of sons on young fathers’ criminal behavior and labor market activities," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    39. Claudia Goldin & Sari Pekkala Kerr & Claudia Olivetti, 2022. "When the Kids Grow Up: Women's Employment and Earnings across the Family Cycle," NBER Working Papers 30323, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    40. Chang‐Tai Hsieh & Erik Hurst & Charles I. Jones & Peter J. Klenow, 2019. "The Allocation of Talent and U.S. Economic Growth," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(5), pages 1439-1474, September.
    41. Shelly Lundberg & Elaina Rose, 2003. "Child gender and the transition to marriage," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 40(2), pages 333-349, May.
    42. Shelly Lundberg & Sara McLanahan & Elaina Rose, 2007. "Child gender and father involvement in fragile families," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(1), pages 79-92, February.
    43. Terhi Maczulskij & Jutta Viinikainen, 2024. "Personality and public sector employment in Finland," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 38(1), pages 122-149, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Corekcioglu, Gozde & Francesconi, Marco & Kunze, Astrid, 2024. "Expansions in paid parental leave and mothers’ economic progress," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    2. Zurab Abramishvili & William Appleman & Sergii Maksymovych, 2019. "Parental Gender Preference in the Balkans and Scandinavia: Gender Bias or Differential Costs?," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp643, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    3. Åslund, Olof & Karimi, Arizo & Sundberg, Anton, 2025. "Origin, norms, and the motherhood penalty," Working Paper Series 2025:1, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    4. Adams-Prassl, Abi & Jensen, Mathias Fjællegaard & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2024. "Birth Timing and Spacing: Implications for Parental Leave Dynamics and Child Penalties," IZA Discussion Papers 17438, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Olivetti, Claudia & Pan, Jessica & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2024. "The evolution of gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    6. Gørtz, Mette & Sander, Sarah & Sevilla, Almudena, 2023. "Does the Child Penalty Strike Twice, and If So Why?," IZA Discussion Papers 16557, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Estefanía Galván & Cecilia García‐Peñalosa, 2025. "Interactions among gender norms: Evidence from US couples," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 72(1), February.
    8. Lucifora, Claudio & Meurs, Dominique & Villar, Elena, 2021. "The “mommy track” in the workplace. Evidence from a large French firm," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    9. Musayir, Arlan & Arabsheibani, Reza, 2025. "Motherhood and Informality: Empirical Evidence from Russia," IZA Discussion Papers 17916, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Benny, Liza & Bhalotra, Sonia & Fernández, Manuel, 2021. "Occupation flexibility and the graduate gender wage gap in the UK," ISER Working Paper Series 2021-05, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    11. Okuyama, Yoko & Murooka, Takeshi & Yamaguchi, Shintaro, 2025. "Unpacking the Child Penalty Using Personnel Data: How Promotion Practices Widen the Gender Pay Gap," IZA Discussion Papers 17673, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Katrin Huber & Geske Rolvering, 2023. "Public child care and mothers’ career trajectories," Working Papers 228, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    13. Inés Berniell & Lucila Berniell & Dolores de la Mata & María Edo & Yarine Fawaz & Matilde P. Machado & Mariana Marchionni, 2025. "Motherhood and the allocation of talent," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(44), pages 7073-7089, September.
    14. Briole, Simon & Le Forner, Hélène & Lepinteur, Anthony, 2020. "Children’s socio-emotional skills: Is there a quantity–quality trade-off?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. Strittmatter, Anthony & Wunsch, Conny, 2021. "The Gender Pay Gap Revisited with Big Data: Do Methodological Choices Matter?," Working papers 2021/05, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    16. Jon H Fiva & Max-Emil M King, 2024. "Child Penalties in Politics," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(658), pages 648-670.
    17. Bütikofer, Aline & Jensen, Sissel & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2018. "The role of parenthood on the gender gap among top earners," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 103-123.
    18. Glogowsky, Ulrich & Hansen, Emanuel & Sachs, Dominik & Lüthen, Holger, 2025. "The evolution of child-related gender inequality in Germany and the role of family policies, 1960–2018," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    19. Gershoni, Naomi & Low, Corinne, 2021. "The power of time: The impact of free IVF on Women’s human capital investments," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    20. Nieto, Adrián, 2021. "Native-immigrant differences in the effect of children on the gender pay gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 654-680.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18140. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.