Forum: Reshape fatherhood norms to address the motherhood “penalty”

Many studies reveal a “fatherhood premium” in which men’s careers and earnings can accelerate post-parenthood. This is while mothers often face a significant earnings “penalty” after having children.

This phenomenon is often attributed to employers perceiving new fathers as more stable and committed. Consequently, men frequently feel intensified pressure to fulfil traditional breadwinner roles, leading them to lean further into demanding jobs and work longer hours.

This dynamic creates a systemic loop: Mothers adapt to caregiving responsibilities by stepping back from demanding careers, incurring economic penalties, while fathers step forward, inadvertently reinforcing a system that equates commitment with long, inflexible hours.

Both men and women are making rational choices within the existing incentive structures, but the outcome is a perpetuation of an unequal division of labour and workplace norms that hinder true gender equity in parenting.

If the goal is to create a society where parenthood is compatible with a thriving adult life for all, then simply compensating mothers for an unequal system may not be sufficient. A more transformative approach would involve reshaping the expectations placed on fathers.

This includes policies that make paternity leave mandatory and non-transferable, thereby normalising fathers’ active caregiving roles from the outset and preventing assumptions that mothers are the default carers.

It also requires challenging cultural narratives that confine men’s value primarily to economic provision, alongside fostering workplace cultures where requests for flexible hours from fathers are seen as standard and indicative of commitment, rather than a lack thereof.

Acknowledging the severe impact of the motherhood penalty remains paramount. Women disproportionately bear the economic costs of children, which is a key factor in both gender inequality and fertility decline.

True societal reshaping demands a re-evaluation of both roles and rewards.

Keith Wong