Women’s incomes decline less after the birth of their first child

© ANP / Patricia Rehe

Women in employment who had their first child between 2016 and 2018 earned 33 percent less six years after the birth than they did in the year before they became mothers. For fathers, this ‘baby penalty’ is significantly lower, at 3 percent. For mothers, however, the penalty has decreased over time: women who had their first child twenty years ago saw their income from work fall by as much as 57 percent. In the intervening years, mothers have started working more hours, on average. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands in the Emancipation Monitor 2026, published today.

Preference for equal sharing of childcare, but reality differs

Two-thirds of both women and men in heterosexual relationships with a child under 18 said they would like to share childcare equally. Between 25 percent and 30 percent believe that this task should fall somewhat more, or primarily, to the mother. Very few respondents (2 percent) indicated a preference for the father to take on more childcare.

In practice, childcare is shared equally far less often than desired: partners share the tasks equally in 40 percent of heterosexual households with children. Over half say that the mother should take on more of the childcare tasks.

Men are more likely than women to believe that mothers are better suited to childcare than fathers

Most people believe that men and women are equally suited to looking after children. However, men were less likely to say this than women (67 percent), at 55 percent. 41 percent of men believe that women are better suited to looking after children, while 29 percent of women share this view. Almost nobody (neither men nor women) believes men are better at childcare.

Fathers with young children work more hours than most people think is suitable

26 percent of women and 30 percent of men believe that mothers with a child aged under 4 are best-off in a small part-time job of up to 20 hours a week. In practice, however, only 9 percent of mothers with a young child worked part-time in 2025. Most mothers worked 20 to 35 hours per week, and this is also the option preferred by the majority of both women and men. More mothers work full-time or do not work at all than most people think is suitable.

There is also a difference among men: the majority believe that fathers with a young child are best-off working between 20 and 35 hours. Women are 67 percent more likely to agree with this than men (57 percent). In practice, only 20 percent of fathers do so, while the majority (75 percent) work full-time.

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As far as the Emancipation Monitor is concerned, the focus remains on differences and similarities between women and men in many areas. In addition to work and care, it covers income and economic independence, the demographic life course, as well as education, health and safety.

Sources