Mothers are paid 3pc less for every child they have compared to their female colleagues who do not have children, new research from Université Paris-Saclay reveals.

According to the study - which was carried out over sixteen years and looked at organisations in the French private sector between 1995 and 2011 - fathers suffer no such penalty at all.

The researcher involved separated the effect of childbirth from other firm-specific wage determinants, and accounted for full-time and part-time work.

The findings reveal that the difference between mothers and non-mothers is approximated a 3pc lower hourly wage.

The effect was found to be more pronounced after the birth of the first child.

Following the birth of a child, mothers can be allocated a role with less risky assignments, so are less likely to receive bonuses or more likely to become trapped in low-wage trajectories, the study found.

“[The] research confirms what many commentators have long suspected – that rifts in the gender pay gap can be directly related to motherhood. Organisations need to create an inclusive culture to which equality and diversity are fundamental if they truly want to address gender inequality in the workplace,” Kate Headley, director of consulting, at the Clear Company said.

Online Editors