The Impact of Fatherhood on Men's Earnings in Canada

Abstract

Whereas the effect of motherhood on women’s earnings has been well documented, little research has been done in Canada exploring the impact of fatherhood on men’s earnings. Although international research has shown that, unlike women, men who have a child increase their earnings, a growing body of research suggests that this benefit may be mediated by whether or not the father takes a parental leave. Using the 2011 General Social Survey (GSS) on family issues and employing ordinary least squares regression I investigate whether fathers receive an earnings bonus compared to childless men and whether fathers who take paternity/ parental leave earn less than fathers who do not. Our findings show that after controlling for personal and work related characteristics fathers earn significantly more than childless men and fathers who took paternity/parental leave earn significantly less than fathers who did not. Potential explanations for these earnings gaps are discussed.