The shifting motherhood penalty and fatherhood premium in China's gig economy: Impact of parental status on income changes

Abstract

The fatherhood premium and motherhood penalty are key concepts in the study of gender income gaps. Using an ordinary least squares model, influencing mechanism analysis and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, we examine changes in Chinese gig workers’ income by gender, before and after parenthood. The results indicate that, in the Chinese gig economy, the motherhood penalty is vanishing, while the fatherhood premium has evolved into a fatherhood penalty owing to work pressure and the gender segregation of occupations in the gig economy, requiring men to balance their time and energy between work and childcare in a way that is not as prevalent in other sectors.