Joya Misra, sociology and public policy, is quoted in a new article in Nature discussing research published in late 2025 in European Sociological Review on the financial losses that women sustain as a result of becoming a mother, known as the "motherhood penalty." Using data from over 100,000 people in Denmark, the study in question found that new mothers lost on average $120,000 in income in the two decades following the birth of a child. Commenting on the research, Misra laments that the state transfer data are not more granular. “I wish this study was able to help us understand the types of transfer income that they have identified,” she says.
Joya Misra quoted in new Nature article on recent research on the "motherhood penalty"
