Men with children are paid higher wages, according to a study at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. However, dads who take time off, whether it is extended paternity leave or for childcare reasons, run the risk of lower hourly rates or even demotion.
Social scientists suggest that men who actually involve themselves in parenting tasks that require them to take time off work do not “match expectations of the roles that they should play”. The higher pay for fathers seems to be down to the theory that they will work harder to provide for their families, although taking time off negates this.
Co-author of the report, Shelley J. Correll explains, “being a breadwinner father leads men to be judged as more committed to their jobs than childless men, with the reverse being true for mothers”.
And, yes, this is a report from 2014.
According to the study, men who put membership of parent-teacher associations on their CVs are more often called back for further job interviews and, ultimately, offered bigger salaries than those who either aren’t or didn’t mention that they were parents.
So, it turns out that it IS worth sitting through those long, protracted school meetings after all.
For more on working parents have a look at the Bewildered Dad blog.
As a father just starting a 13 week stint of additional paternity leave I found this very interesting. My job and all it entails is protected whilst I’m off, thankfully… Although the bit about applying for other jobs as an active Dad was new to me.. Thanks
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It’s very strange isn’t it? Scary stuff for some. Glad to hear your job is protected.