Mothers 'take a pay cut' if their firstborn is a daughter

Mothers could take a bigger pay cut at work if their first child is a daughter rather than a son, a study has found.

- Victoria Allen

It is well known that women face a “child penalty” compared with men, meaning they are more likely to work part-time and to sacrifice earnings and career opportunities after becoming a parent.

But researchers at the University of Essex believe there is a further “daughter penalty” for mothers whose firstborn is a girl, with new analysis finding they earn about 30% less than those mothers whose first child is a boy.

Mothers of daughters were also almost 15% less likely than mothers of sons to be working when their child was five years old, according to the research. They were more likely to end up working part-time, and to undertake a larger share of childcare and domestic responsibilities.

The Essex researchers tracked 748 parents, including their earnings and household circumstances, over a decade, both before and after they had their first child.