The Impact of Parenthood on Labour Market Outcomes of Women and Men in Poland

We study the gender gap in income in Poland in relation to parenthood status, employing the placebo event history method. We propose a modification of the method that computes the placebo trajectories of the outcome analytically rather than through a numerical experiment, enabling its use on smaller panel datasets, such as the Polish Generations and Gender Survey. We observe a decrease of approximately 17% in mothers’ income post-birth. In contrast, the income of fathers surpasses that of non-fathers both pre- and post-birth, suggesting that the fatherhood child premium may be primarily driven by selection. Finally, we compare the gender gaps in income and wages between women and men in the sample with those in a counterfactual scenario in which the entire population is childless. Our findings show no statistically significant gender gaps in the counterfactual scenario, leading us to conclude that parenthood drives the gender gaps in income and wages in Poland.