Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/325053 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17995
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This letter contributes to the literature on gender disparities in professional life by exploring how men and women perceive the impact of parenthood on career outcomes. It does so through the lens of perceived employer-given opportunities ('chances') and perceived own career-related behaviour ('choices'). We focus on how employees perceive this impact not only on their own careers but also on those of other parents. To this end, we survey a probability sample of 1,060 employees in Belgium. We find that fathers perceive a less negative impact of parenthood on their own careers than mothers do, in terms of both chances and choices. Additionally, mothers perceive greater career penalties for other mothers than they report for themselves. These insights are valuable in understanding how self-fulfilling prophecies may shape parents' careers.
Subjects: 
discrimination
fatherhood
motherhood
career
survey
JEL: 
C83
J13
J17
J71
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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