The persistent gender gap in labor market outcomes, especially the child penalty — the career setbacks women experience compared to men after becoming parents — remains a critical issue in understanding and addressing gender inequality. In a recent IZA discussion paper, Henrik Jacobsen Kleven, Giulia Olivero, and Eleonora Patacchini explore the formative role of parental role models during adolescence in shaping these penalties.
Using longitudinal data from U.S. adolescents tracked from middle and high school into adulthood, the researchers leverage quasi-random variation in classroom exposure to peers with working mothers or fathers. The study finds that adolescents exposed to a higher proportion of peers with working mothers during their school years experience significantly smaller child penalties in adulthood.
Working fathers reinforce traditional gender roles
In contrast, exposure to peers with working fathers amplifies the child penalty, reinforcing traditional gender roles that associate men with breadwinning and women with caregiving roles. This dual influence underscores how male and female parental role models shape diverging career trajectories for women.
The findings persist across various model specifications and control factors, confirming that the observed effects are indeed tied to parental work behavior rather than correlated characteristics like education or income. The research provides compelling evidence that local and immediate social environments, such as the parental employment behaviors of peers, play a crucial role in shaping gender-role ideals. These ideals, in turn, have long-lasting effects on labor market trajectories.