'Motherhood penalty' costs women $500k

Mothers lose out on $500k in wages over their career

What you probably already know: The motherhood penalty where women who become mothers experience wage and hiring discrimination is nothing new, but a new study puts a big price tag on the issue. Bankrate analyzed the Census Bureau’s most recent Current Population Survey and found that mothers earned 31% less than fathers last year, on par with what the same survey showed in 2022. The lost wages can add up to about $500,000 over a mother’s 30-year career if earnings remain the same, the study found.

Why? Working mothers with kids under 18 earned a median salary of $55,276 compared to working fathers, who made $72,280, and fathers actually make more than full-time working men without children under 18. For mothers, the opposite is true and the pay gap has changed very little in the last 20 years.

What it means: This is increasing calls for government support of childcare. There are more women than ever in the workforce, but they’re still doing the bulk of the childcare, which contributes to the discrimination against mothers who are perceived as less available because they are often the ones picking kids up from daycare and school. Often these same women self-select lower paying positions because they offer the flexibility they need to care for their children. But even when women out-earn their husbands, they still take on more household chores and caregiving responsibilities.

What happens now? The federal government granted $53 billion in one-time funding for child care during the pandemic, which was distributed to the states. About $13.5 billion of that support expired in September 2023, and another $15 billion will expire this September, creating what many are calling a “fiscal cliff” for states that will only exacerbate the issue unless additional funding is made available.

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