Sociology / Unit 7 Soc 1093 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Motherhood Penalty and Fatherhood Premium
Captions available
The idea
The motherhood penalty is a hiring and pay disadvantage attached to mothers specifically; the fatherhood premium is the reverse advantage attached to fathers, and studies find both.
In practice
An identical résumé recommended for a lower starting salary once it signals motherhood illustrates the penalty directly.
Where people slip
The asymmetry is about parental status interacting with gender, not about mothers or fathers as individuals.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Sociology