Mothers who stop working to raise children sacrifice more than the pay for their work stoppage; when they come back, their wages reflect lost increases, according to a new study. The study looked at the employment rate of 4,658 women over a longer period of time. The study examined how motherhood punishes white and black women, and how this is varied by the women's skill and wage levels. It was discovered that:
• Highly educated, well-paid white women lose an average of 10 percent of their wages per child.
• White women with lower skills and/or lower wages lose significantly less, between 4 and 7 percent of their wages per child .
• Penalties were lower for black women than for white women; however, unlike white women, the penalties for black women did not differ significantly by skill or pay.
