Single mothers are not punished at work in the same way as married mothers, the new research from the University of Arizona suggests. At the same time, single fathers do not benefit in the workplace like married fathers. Previous research has found that mothers and fathers experience different prejudices at work, with mothers being punished and fathers taking advantage of their parenting status. But those prejudices may change depending on whether parents are married or single, according to the new research. The survey found that mothers in the United States have a net wage penalty of 5-7 percent per child and are often perceived as less capable and less committed. As a result, they are placed in “mom job”, characterized by fewer opportunities for career advancement and financial security.
Conversely, some research suggests that men are reaping the benefits of becoming fathers and may see a boost in pay as well as an improvement in the way they are perceived in the workplace. The difference in treatment between mothers and fathers is, according to the literature, at least partly explained by the persistent gender stereotypes that women are primary care providers, whose attention is largely focused on their children, while men are breadwinners, who focus on supporting financially. their families.
But what happens if there is only one parent in the photo? In an experimental study, it was found that when parents are not married, the maternity fine and the paternity premium seem to disappear.
The fine does not apply to single mothers as it does to married mothers. If a woman is known to be single and if she has children, she is also a breadwinner in addition to being a caregiver. So in addition to informal care, she now also has to take care of her family and she has no one to fall back on. This research shows that single mothers are not considered less capable or less committed than single women without children, and they are not less likely to be hired or promoted compared to their childless counterparts, in other words, while the maternity penalty applies to married mothers it disappears in the subsample of single mothers.
