Eunjung Lee, PhD candidate in Economics, is part of a research team along with Joya Misra, UMass Amherst Sociology and Marta Murray-Close, Research Economist that confirms that women with children earn less in the workforce, despite gains in education and experience over the past 30 years.

The study from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth found that in three time periods between 1986 and 2014, mothers of three or more children made about 18 percent less than childless women, even when controlling for education and experience, while for mothers of two, there was a 13 percent divide. For mothers of one child, the gulf actually widened during that time, from 8 to 14 percent. 

The research was supported by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth and a seed grant from the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences UMass Amherst.