in the past, employers used to pay fathers a “family wage” to accommodate their breadwinner role. Legally, this wage does not exist anymore, and although the motherhood penalty has been decreasing over the years, the fatherhood premium has been increasing. The increase began in the 1990s, and by the 2010s, high-wage fathers earned a 10% fatherhood premium, and low-wage fathers earned a 5% premium (Glauber, 2018). Moreover, it is not just the issue of pay. Fathers are 1.83 times more likely to be recommended for management positions than non-fathers (Correll, Benard, & Paik, 2007). Some could argue that the fatherhood premium makes up for the motherhood penalty in traditional families with two working parents who are in a heterosexual relationship. These concepts, however, should be eliminated from society to make the workforce equal for both men and women: the motherhood penalty and fatherhood premium are both discrimination in the workplace. Mothers are paid, promoted, and hired less, simply because they have children. Multiple factors affect the motherhood penalty including, but not limited to, wages, number of children, and age. A main cause of this problem is that employers view mothers as less productive after bearing children. Studies have shown, however, that mothers are just as productive, if not more, after having children. The fatherhood premium is almost the exact opposite in which men who have children are rewarded with a higher salary, lower performance standards, and management positions. They are also seen as more committed than mothers. Think about this the next time you see your own mother or any mother with whom you work. All women, with children or without, deserve the same wage and benefits as men. The motherhood penalty and all discrimination in the workforce needs to be eliminated to create equality for all. References Benard, S., & Correll, S. (2010). Normative discrimination and the motherhood penalty. Gender and Society, 24(5), 616–646. doi:10.1177/0891243210381342 Budig, M., & Hodges, M. (2010). Differences in disadvantage: Variation in the motherhood penalty across white women’s earnings distribution. American Sociological Review, 75(5), 705– 728. Retrieved from http://0-www.jstor.org.library.svsu.edu/stable/20799486 Correll, S., Benard, S., & Paik, I. (2007). Getting a job: Is there a motherhood penalty? American Journal of Sociology, 112(5), 1297–1338. doi:10.1086/511799 Glauber, R. (2018). Trends in the motherhood wage penalty and fatherhood wage premium for low, middle, and high earners. Demography, 55(5), 1663–1680. doi:10.1007/s13524-018-07125 Kahn, J. R., García-Manglano, J., & Bianchi, S. M. (2014). The motherhood penalty at midlife: Long-term effects of children on women’s careers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(1), 56–72. doi:10.1111/jomf.12086 Kricheli-Katz, T. (2012). Choice, discrimination, and the motherhood penalty. Law & Society Review, 46(3), 557–587. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5893.2012.00506.x Staff, J., & Mortimer, J. (2012). Explaining the motherhood wage penalty during the early occupational career. Demography, 49(1), 1–21. doi:10.1007/s13524-011-00068-6
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