Family Formation & Men's and Women's Wage Mobility: Evidence from the U.S.

Event Details

Date:

Monday, 25 May 2015

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:15 pm

Room:

442

UQ Location:

General Purpose North 3 (St Lucia)

URL:

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Presented by Prof David Maume.
Work-family scholars have long known that marriage and parenthood have gendered effects on economic rewards; i.e., men receive a “bonus” from getting married and having children, whereas women are penalized. But, is there any reason to think that the effects of family formation on economic rewards have weakened over time as women’s career commitments increase, men become more family-centered, and employers become more family-friendly? This study uses data on two cohorts from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth to examine wage mobility from ages 18 to 30. I find that in the context of overall declining rates of career mobility, across time fatherhood has increasingly positive effects on men’s wage growth, whereas marriage and motherhood have persistently negative effects on women’s wage mobility.

David J. Maume is Professor of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati, and immediate Past President of the Southern Sociological Society. His research interests are in racial and gender inequality in the labor market and the work-family nexus. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health, and his publications have appeared in Social Forces, Work and Occupations, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Gender & Society, and the American Sociological Review.