THE PRICE OF MOTHERHOOD - FAMILY STATUS AND WOMENS PAY IN A YOUNG BRITISH COHORT

This paper investigates wage differentials among women related to family status (the 'family gap') as well as wage inequality between men and women (the 'gender gap'), using longitudinal data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS). In a cross-section, there is a family gap of 20-22%. The longitudinal results provide little evidence that this gap is due to unobserved heterogeneity. Rather, the family gap appears to be due to the direct and indirect effects of having children. This paper also finds a large wage premium for using maternity leave and returning to work, as well as a large penalty for working part-time.