American women’s wages improved partly due to having fewer children, new research reveals. Women earned 85% of men’s hourly wages in 2024, up from 65% in the mid-1980s. Sociologists and demographers found that declining family size contributed to this progress. Between 1980 and 2000, average children per working adult dropped from 2.4 to 1.8. Researchers estimate about 8% of the pay gap’s narrowing stems from fewer children, since motherhood decreases women’s earnings while fatherhood increases men’s wages. Women’s hourly pay relative to men climbed from 58% in 1980 to 76% by 2018, with rapid gains in the 1980s followed by slower improvement. Progress stalled after 2000 when fertility rates stabilized around 1.8 children per employee. (Story URL)
