Denmark's generous child care and parental leave policies erase 80% of the 'motherhood penalty' for working moms

Denmark's generous child care and parental leave policies erase 80% of the 'motherhood penalty' for working moms describes research on whether state support can reduce the earnings “motherhood penalty.” The study, led by a sociologist working with Danish sociologist Therese Christensen, examines Denmark’s policies that subsidize childcare from 6 months until elementary school, with parents paying no more than 25% of the cost, alongside paid parental leave and child benefits. Using administrative data from Statistics Denmark covering 104,361 women born in the early 1960s who became mothers between ages 20 and 35, the researchers estimated that motherhood reduced earnings by an amount equivalent to about $9,000 in the first year after a first birth or adoption. They report that increased state income offset about 80% of average earnings losses, although the overall penalty persisted until about 19 years later. Motherhood also lowered the long-term number of hours worked, costing roughly $120,000 over 20 years.