Parenthood effects on career outcomes : does fertility timing matter?

Abstract

Even though gender equality in the labour market has improved in recent decades, parenthood induced income inequalities are still present. Moreover, income disadvantages accumulate over time, leading to income disparities in old age as well. To optimise the direct and indirect income effects associated with parenthood, individuals may wish to postpone having children. However, literature on the monetary effectiveness of parenthood postponement is still relatively limited. This dissertation contributes to the literature by examining (1) whether motherhood postponement moderates the negative wage effects associated with parenthood and whether any such effects vary cross-nationally; and (2) whether fatherhood timing moderates the fatherhood wage effects and whether the effects differ across institutional settings. Furthermore, (3) it predicts gender income inequalities in retirement and investigates stratification by education and family status therein. An analysis of longitudinal survey data from Germany and the United Kingdom revealed that the motherhood penalty increases in the United Kingdom and decreases in East Germany as childbirths are delayed to later career stages. No moderating effect of childbirth timing on the motherhood penalty was discovered in West Germany. Concerning men, in West Germany, the fatherhood premium is higher among men who postpone parenthood, whereas no timing effects have been found among East German and British men. In the third study, predicted pensions for German men and women who will retire by the year 2032 show that the overall gender pension gap will somewhat decline, however, the stratification therein will increase. The gender pension gap will close between all childless individuals irrespective of their educational attainments. In the meantime, the gender pension gap will remain virtually unchanged between the highly educated women and men in East and West Germany and the less educated women and fathers in East Germany. Overall, mothers will remain the most disadvantaged social group.