Archive · 16 Sep 2025
Fewer Children Narrowed US Women's Pay Gap
Imagine women and men are paid differently at work.
A study found that the gap is getting smaller.
This is partly because women are having fewer kids now.
When women have children, they often earn less, while men's pay sometimes goes up.
Since the average number of children per family has decreased, this has helped shrink the pay difference between men and women.
Around 8% of the decrease in the pay gap is related to the number of children that women and men have.
This trend was rapid in the 1980s but has slowed down.
The research highlights the impact of family size on pay equality.
Women in the US earned 85% of what men earned in 2024.
The gender pay gap has decreased since the 1980s when women earned 65% as much as men.
Researchers found that a smaller family size has contributed to reducing the pay gap.
Mothers often experience wage losses, while fathers' wages typically increase after having children.
About 8% of the narrowing pay gap is associated with fewer children being born.
- Who
- Sociologists, demographers, and working Americans.
- What
- Research shows the gender pay gap is decreasing in part due to women having fewer children.
- When
- The research analyzed data from 1980 to 2018; the study was published in June 2025.
- Where
- United States
- Why
- Fewer children lead to a smaller pay gap because parenthood affects men's and women's wages differently.
- Pay Gap (2024)
- Women earned 85% as much as men
- Pay Gap (Mid-1980s)
- Women earned 65% as much as men
- Average Children per Woman (1980)
- About 3
- Average Children per Woman (2000)
- 1.9
- Pay Gap Decline Explained by Fewer Kids
- Approximately 8%