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High-Earning Moms Get Socked With 10% ‘Motherhood Penalty’

Having a kid is a bad career move. Now the research suggests it’s way worse if you’re a high-skilled worker. (Dads, you’re good.)
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Photographer: Getty Images

For women, having a kid is a bad career move, and having one as a highly skilled earner is even worse. For each child she has, a woman suffers a "motherhood penalty" of 4 percent of income. 

According to new research, published today in the American Sociological Review, for high-skilled, high-paid workers, that penalty climbs to 10 percent per child.