When it comes to the workplace, the arrival of a new child has long been a pivotal moment for families—and, as recent research shows, for gender equality as well. Two new studies released in late August 2025, one from the United States and one from the United Kingdom, reveal a complex and evolving picture of how parenthood continues to shape the lives, earnings, and opportunities of mothers and fathers differently. The findings highlight both modest progress and stubborn barriers, offering a window into the unfinished business of the so-called gender revolution.
In the United States, a study published on August 24, 2025, by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Sociology, analyzed more than three decades of data from the Current Population Survey, stretching from 1989 to 2020. According to the study, U.S. fathers in more recent cohorts have begun to work fewer hours around the time of childbirth compared to their predecessors. The trend, while modest, signals a shift toward greater paternal involvement at home—a phenomenon some scholars describe as the “second half” of the gender revolution.
The study’s author found that the reduction in work hours was most pronounced among college-educated men, those with college-educated partners, and men in dual-earner households. “Changes across cohorts are entirely accounted for by men’s increasing reports of parental leave usage,” the research notes. This points to a growing willingness among fathers to take time away from work to care for their newborns, a change that may have seemed radical just a generation ago.
But is this progress enough? The magnitude of change, the study cautions, remains modest overall. For many families, the traditional division of labor—where mothers take on the bulk of caregiving and fathers quickly return to the workforce—still holds sway. And as the research makes clear, the journey toward true gender equality in both paid and unpaid labor is far from over.
Across the Atlantic, the picture is even more stark. On August 25, 2025, analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data in the UK revealed that women with children earn £302 less every week than men with children—a gap amounting to one-third less per week and nearly 20% less per hour. This wage gulf is so wide that “Mums’ Equal Pay Day” falls on September 1, almost three months before the equivalent day for all women. From this date, mothers are effectively “working for free” compared with fathers for the rest of the year, according to the analysis.
Joeli Brearley, founder of Growth Spurt, an online back-to-work scheme for parents, explained the root of the problem: “The reason the gender pay gap worsens so significantly after having children is because starting a family has a disproportionately negative impact on women’s earnings.” The ONS has acknowledged the analysis as accurate, but Brearley insists the true scale is even worse, since the figures do not account for the many women who become economically inactive due to caring responsibilities.
“Yet we know that women are much more likely to have been forced to leave their jobs due to childcare costs, maternity discrimination and a lack of suitable flexible working,” Brearley said. Every year, roughly 74,000 women in the UK are forced out of their jobs simply for getting pregnant or taking maternity leave, according to earlier analysis by Brearley. The majority of mothers, she added, have faced some form of discrimination or disadvantage after taking maternity leave, from missed promotions to being sidelined at work.
The cost and availability of childcare, as well as the scarcity of flexible and part-time roles that offer real opportunities for advancement, remain significant barriers. Since women are more likely to request flexible working, they also disproportionately bear the “career penalty” attached to these roles. Brearley argued that “our outdated parental leave system reinforces gendered expectations: mothers are encouraged, and often expected, to take extended time off, while fathers return to work quickly. This not only entrenches the idea that caregiving is ‘women’s work,’ but also means men’s careers continue to progress while women’s stall.”
Penny East, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which calculates the annual Equal Pay Day, emphasized the consequences of this persistent gap: “It’s significant that Mums’ Equal Pay Day falls so much earlier than Equal Pay Day. Motherhood can create a financial cliff edge for many women. It’s also worth remembering that for many women the motherhood penalty and the gender pay gap conspire to create a pension pay gap, which pushes many women into pension poverty later in life.” East added, “There is no good reason for any pay gap to exist and government and employers must do more to level the playing field for all women at every stage of our lives.”
Dr. Mary-Ann Stephenson, director of the Women’s Budget Group, echoed these concerns, noting, “The research highlights how the earnings gap really opens up when women become mothers. We have a leave system which reinforces the gendered division of unpaid care, meaning that even couples who intend to share care more equally than their parents find that women are still the default parent.” Stephenson stressed the importance of the government’s ongoing review of parental leave, arguing that the current system “is bad for everyone, and makes the reforms needed to allow parents to share both paid and unpaid work more fairly.”
The findings from both sides of the Atlantic point to a stubborn paradox. While some progress is evident—particularly among certain groups of fathers in the U.S.—the overall structure of work and care remains deeply gendered. Men are making incremental moves toward greater involvement at home, but women continue to pay a steep price in terms of earnings, career progression, and long-term financial security after becoming mothers.
Experts agree that change will require more than individual choices. It depends on systemic reforms: affordable and accessible childcare, flexible work that does not penalize ambition, and a parental leave system that encourages both parents to share care more equitably. As the research shows, when fathers are empowered to take leave and reduce work hours, the benefits ripple out—not just for families, but for society as a whole.
For now, the gender revolution remains unfinished. The data tells a story of steps forward and steps yet to be taken, of persistent penalties and new possibilities. As policymakers, employers, and families grapple with the realities of modern parenthood, one thing is clear: the work of achieving true gender equality, both at home and at work, is far from complete.
