A new model of parental time investments: a paradigm shift for addressing gender inequality in the labour market

Pilar Cuevas Ruiz, José Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal, Sveva Manfredi and Maria Almudena Sevilla Sanz
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Jose Ignacio Gimenez-Nadal

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: This paper introduces a new framework for understanding the persistence of the motherhood penalty by emphasizing the role of on-call care. Using a pseudo-panel event study based on the 2003–22 American Time Use Survey (ATUS), we quantify how different types of parental care time contribute to post-childbirth labour market outcomes. Our results show that gender gaps in on-call care, not primary childcare, drive the long-term reduction in mothers’ paid work. In the first 2 years after birth, declines in paid work are largely explained by primary interactive childcare. Over time, however, on-call care becomes the dominant factor. This shift is not accounted for in existing labour market models, nor in standard policies such as parental leave and childcare subsidies. We argue that the persistent economic costs of gender inequality can be better understood and addressed by integrating the temporal and unpredictable nature of caregiving into economic theory and policy design.

Keywords: gender inequality; child penalty; labour market outcomes; on-call care; motherhood (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J13 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2026-03-02
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 2, March, 2026, 41(3-4), pp. 820 - 842. ISSN: 0266-903X

Downloads: (external link)
https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/129843/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: A new model of parental time investments: A paradigm shift for addressing gender inequality in the labor market (2025)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:129843

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library LSE Library Portugal Street London, WC2A 2HD, U.K.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by LSERO Manager ().