Women’s income falls after first child, but drop has narrowed over time

Women who had their first child in 2016–18 and were working at the time had, on average, 33 per cent less income from work six years later than in the year before the birth, according to new Dutch statistics. The fall was substantially smaller than for women who became mothers two decades earlier, but remained far larger than the 3 per cent decline recorded for fathers in the latest group.

The figures, published by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in its 2026 Emancipation Monitor, track income from work six years after the birth of a first child. For women who had their first child in 1996–2001, income was down 57 per cent over that period. The decline narrowed across later birth cohorts, reaching 33 per cent for those who became mothers in 2016–18.

CBS says mothers have worked more hours over time. The figures show a change in average outcomes for each cohort; they do not establish what happened to every individual parent.

Equal-care preference, unequal practice

Around two-thirds of women and men in couples with children under 18 said they would prefer to share childcare equally. In practice, care was shared equally in 40 per cent of cohabiting couples with children under 18, while in more than half the woman did more.

The gap also appears in working hours among parents with children under four. In 2025, 75 per cent of fathers worked at least 35 hours a week, although most people surveyed considered a 20-to-35-hour week the best fit for fathers with young children. Only 20 per cent of fathers worked those hours. Among mothers, 57 per cent worked 20 to 35 hours, the range most often considered suitable for them.