If you have kids, some of these statistics may surprise you (or maybe not) …

In April 2019, CNBC published that mothers are paid only 71 cents for every dollar paid to fathers, which translates to a loss of $16,000 a year. According to their data, while additional gender roles are changing, many couples still adhere to them, with women much more likely to be the primary caregiver for children. Although this information may or may not be relevant to you specifically, it still touches on an important topic many people have been talking about for quite some time — the gender wage gap.

More recently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the labor force participation rate—the percent of the population working or looking for work—for all mothers with children under age 18 was 71.2 percent in 2021, unchanged from the prior year but down from 72.3 percent in 2019. The participation rate for fathers with children under age 18, at 92.5 percent in 2021, was little changed from 2020 (92.3 percent) but down from 2019 (93.3 percent). Employed fathers remained more likely to work full time than employed mothers in 2021—95.5 percent compared with 79.6 percent.

Source: the Bureau of Labor Statistics

According to a study from Harvard Business School, women who work full-time earn 26% less than their male counterparts. And while women make up nearly half of the workforce, they hold only 37% of management positions. A 2021 study by Pew Research found that women earned 84% of what men earned in 2020. And in 2021, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research reported that women earned just 83.1 percent of what men earned.

The wage gap is even more pronounced for mothers. 

Women who’ve been on maternity leave are 69% more likely to get laid off vs men at the same level who had taken paternity leave.

There’s no denying that maternity leave is different from paternity leave. The former tends to be longer, and it’s often unpaid, while the latter is shorter, and it tends to be paid. But what if we told you that even though men who take paternity leave tend to get paid more than women who take maternity leave, the women also get laid off at a higher rate?

It could be because employers don’t trust that women can keep up with their work while they’re on maternity leave—or because they think they’ll come back less committed than they were before going out on maternity leave in the first place. However, this is not always the case.

Moms are much more involved in childcare than dads, which affects their jobs and earnings.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, married mothers remained less likely to participate in the labor force in 2021. By contrast, married fathers remained more likely to participate in the labor force. Mothers with children younger than age 6 were about 3 times as likely as fathers to be employed part-time, compared with those without children. And mothers working part-time were about 2 times as likely as those not working at all to say that they were looking for full-time work (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Mothers spend more time out of the workforce taking care of family members (which adds up quickly when you’re talking about decades). While men can get away with not being as involved in raising children or caring for elderly family members due to gender stereotypes—and thus enjoy greater opportunities at work—women don’t have this luxury.

“Parenting penalty” doesn’t just apply to wages, it also shows up in hiring and promotions.

When you look at resumes with similar qualifications, employers are more likely to hire men over women if they have children. And when you look at employees who’ve been promoted into positions of leadership, managers are more likely to promote men than women even when they’re equally qualified.

There are fewer women than men in executive positions and higher-paying occupations requiring more education and experience.

Employers often see mothers as less committed to their jobs, despite all evidence to the contrary. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, 38% of working mothers were employed as managers or professionals in 2016 compared with 46% of working fathers. 

This means that even if you’re a woman who has made it into an executive position or other high-earning occupation, you might still be taking home less than your male counterparts because there are so few women in those roles and even fewer moms doing the same work as dads do!

Mothers with children under 18 average total annual earnings of $43,000, while fathers with children under 18 average $54,000.

Did you know that on average, mothers earn $11,000 less than fathers each year? According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, in 2015, mothers’ median annual earnings for full-time, year-round work ($40,000) were just 71.4 percent of fathers’ earnings ($56,000). This means that mothers are more likely to be poor than fathers. 

So why does this gap exist? It may be because we still have some stereotypes about what makes someone a good parent: The idea that men are breadwinners and women are caretakers is deeply ingrained in our culture. Or maybe it’s because employers don’t think mothers have enough experience or skills to be valuable employees. Whatever the reason, if you’re a mom looking for a job or wanting more money at your current job, it’s important to know what kind of wage gap might affect you—and how you can fight against it!