Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/261472 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper Series No. 43
Publisher: 
University of Waterloo, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), Waterloo
Abstract: 
The impact of children on the labour market outcomes ofwomen relative to men (the "child penalty") is well-documented, yet there is a paucity of evidence on the mechanisms behind it. I use 50 years of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to explore the importance of gendered norms and preferences and present three main findings. First, there is extensive heterogeneity in the penalty across groups ofwomen, but not men, based on their race, marital status, and birth cohort. Second, there is a strong link between the penalty and individual-level gender-related beliefs. Third, women who grew up in households with a less traditional division of labour exhibit a smaller penalty when they have children. Taken together, my findings demonstrate that gender norms are a key driver of the penalty.
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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