Taking the long view: Long-term couple earnings arrangements across the transition to parenthood

Abstract

This paper examines household earnings arrangements and parenthood. Previous research has shown that parenthood is associated with a motherhood wage penalty with women withdrawing from the labour market or reducing their work hours. But few studies have examined within-couple relative earnings and breadwinning arrangements across the transition to parenthood. We identify three types of households—“female-breadwinner households” (where women earn more than 60 per cent of the couple's annual labour income); “male-breadwinner households” (where women earn less than 40 per cent of the joint income); and “equal-earner households” (where women earn 40 per cent to 60 per cent of the joint income). ..