State work–family contexts and the wage gap by gender and parenthood

• Published date: 01 October 2022
• Author: Eiko Strader
• Date: 01 October 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12680

RESEARCH

State work–family contexts and the wage gap

by gender and parenthood

Eiko Strader

Public Policy and Women’s, Gender &

Sexuality Studies, The George Washington

University, Washington, DC

Correspondence

Eiko Strader, Public Policy and Women’s,

Gender & Sexuality Studies, The George

Washington University, Phillips Hall 342, 801

22nd St. NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.

Email: strader@gwu.edu

Abstract

Objective: This article examines the association between

state-level work–family resources and earnings disparities

by gender and parenthood.

Background: The wage gap between childless men and

women in the United States has narrowed, but the gap

between mothers and fathers remains robust. Gendered

division of labor and reduced labor force participation of

women around childbirth have been raised as underlying

causes. In the absence of national support, some states and

migrant domestic workers have been filling the care gap,

but it is unclear whether these factors are associated with

the wage gap.

Method: Individual-level data from the 2012 American

Community Survey were merged with state-level data col-

lected for 2010. Multilevel linear regression models were

used to explore variation in earnings across states,

accounting for compositional differences and selection into

the labor force.

Results: Temporary Disability Insurance, which enables

new birth mothers to take paid leave, was robustly

associated with narrower gaps between mothers and

fathers. Unpaid private-sector leave expansion and

more intensive globalization of domestic work were

associated with narrower gender wage gaps among par-

ents with lower education. Provision of Head Start sup-

plemental funding was associated with narrower wage

gaps between mothers and fathers with higher

education.

Conclusions: Although mothers earned more in states with

more work–family resources, the wage gap remained

mostly unchanged because fathers similarly earned more

in states with better work–family context.

Received: 17 February 2021Revised: 11 October 2021Accepted: 5 December 2021

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12680

© 2022 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2022;71:1713–1730. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 1713

Implications: The results reflect the fragmented and incom-

plete nature of work–family support in the United States

and calls for more comprehensive intervention strategies

to reduce the wage gap.

KEYWORDS

care work, gender, migrant domestic work, reconciliation policies, wages

Compared with other wealthy nations, the United States provides minimal support for working

families and relies heavily on the market and women’s unpaid work to balance work and family

(Chaudry et al., 2017; Hegewisch & Gornick, 2011; Milkman & Appelbaum, 2013; Misra

et al., 2007; Misra & Strader, 2013; Moller et al., 2016; Rossin-Slater, 2018). Within this

national context, fathers earn more than childless men, but many women pay a wage penalty

for motherhood (Glauber, 2007,2018; Hodges & Budig, 2010). Unequal division of housework

and reduced labor force participation around childbirth have been raised as contributing to the

gendered effects of parenthood on earnings, sustaining the wage gap between mothers and

fathers (Blau & Kahn, 2016; Misra & Strader, 2013; Perry-Jenkins & Gerstel, 2020). However,

the magnitude of the gender wage gap varies substantially within the country (Bacolod, 2017;

McCall, 1998).

In the absence of work–family support at the national level, immigration has revived the

domestic service sector as economic opportunities expanded for some women (Duffy, 2020;

Hochschild, 2000; Milkman et al., 1998). Outsourcing of household tasks through immigrant

labor has benefitted some native-born women (Cortés & Tessada, 2011; Furtado &

Hock, 2010), but the cost of childcare (National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral

Agencies, 2011; Ruppanner et al., 2019) and the growth of immigrant workforce (Duffy, 2020;

Lin & Weiss, 2019; McCall, 2001) vary dramatically across states. Policy contexts also differ in

terms of paid and unpaid leave, as well as Head Start and preschool programs (Barnett

et al., 2011; Barnett & Friedman-Krauss, 2016; Fitzpatrick, 2010; Ruppanner, 2020;

Scarborough et al., 2021). If market and policy conditions alleviate some of the work–family

conflict (WFC) experienced by working mothers, it is plausible for the motherhood wage pen-

alty to be smaller in those areas. However, it is unclear whether earnings disparity between

mothers and fathers would narrow because differences in WFC faced by men across different

community contexts remain understudied as their caretaking roles are often invisible at work

(Burnett et al., 2013; Young, 2019).

Being mindful of the fact that the United States offers less robust and fragmented

work–family support compared with other wealthy nations, this study examines the link

between state-level work–family context and the wage gap by gender and parenthood for

native-born full-time workers using the 2012 American Community Survey (ACS) data.

Multilevel linear regression models were used to account for the hierarchical structure of

the data, along with a series of control variables addressing possible confounds and a

Heckman correction for selection bias. Because the United States lacks paid leave and pub-

licly funded childcare at the federal level, this work considers the availability of unpaid

leave beyond the federal standard in private and public sectors, Temporary Disability

Insurance (TDI), supplemental funding for Head Start, funding for pre-kindergarten (pre-

K) programs, as well as increased globalization of domestic services at the level of states.

Together these resources serve as a patchwork of work–family resources available to work-

ing families. By bringing men into the conversation, the present study seeks to deepen our

understanding of “global care chains”(Hochschild, 2000)andwork–family reconciliation

policies holistically.

1714 FAMILY RELATIONS