Mothers suffer from long commute but not fathers

A study has revealed that women with a long commute are several times more likely to change jobs to reduce their journey length when they become mothers, which is not true for new fathers. 

 

First-time mothers also face a dramatic increase in the marginal cost of commuting – a concept used in transport economics, which can include time, money or the willingness to take a pay cut for a shorter commuting distance. 

 

The study found that the marginal commuting cost is about the same for men and women before the birth of a child, “but after the birth, it is substantially higher for women”. 

 

“Gender differences are only important when children are present,” the study concludes. 

 

 

The figures show that a 12km increase in commuting distance induces a marginal commuting cost equivalent to about 20 per cent in wages for mothers after their first child. 

 

Before having a child, the marginal commuting cost given a 12km increase in commuting distance is about 3-5 per cent of the wages of both men and women. 

 

“This finding is in line with the idea that full-time [working] women with children often have more childcare and household responsibilities than men,” says the study.

 

It points out that the marginal cost of commuting influences the size and structure of cities, “but surprisingly few estimates of the commuting cost exist”.

 

 

Residential moving behaviour was also seen to shift – about 19 per cent of workers move home every year, but this drops to 9 per cent for parents. Residential moves tend to be more local and less frequent after the birth of a first child. 

 

Using data for more than 3 million full-time working people in Denmark for the years 2003-2013 and a precise measure of commuting distance, researchers found that women dramatically decrease their commute after the birth of their first child relative to men – and take a significant pay cut. 

 

“This finding makes sense,” says the study, “as for many workers, adjusting the length of the commute through a job move is an important behavioural margin to optimise time devoted to their labour as they are severely constrained in their choice of working hours.”  

 

Commuting distances of women and men follow the same upward trend before the birth of the child, but after childbirth, a mother’s commuting distance gradually reduces, while men continue to increase their commuting distance before this stagnates. 

 

 

The effect of commuting distance on job mobility is almost three times higher for mothers after their first child but does not affect first-time fathers – meaning women are more likely to change jobs due to a long commute. 

 

The gender commuting distance gap between mothers and fathers ranges from 5 per cent immediately after childbirth (when compared to the year before pregnancy) increasing to a 15 per cent gap 10 years later. 

 

“The resulting difference in commuting patterns after the childbirth hints towards an increase in the cost of commuting for women after having a child,” says the study.

 

It also shows a substantial drop in wages after childbirth, with a gender pay gap of 15 per cent wider immediately after childbirth compared with the year before pregnancy. Both men and women see a wage drop after birth, however mothers’ wages drop substantially while fathers only see a slight decrease. 

 

The gender pay gap also widens after a first child, from 12 per cent to 24 per cent. The number of men and women who change jobs after becoming a parent is similar, however, after becoming parents, the percentage of women with lower wages increases.

 

“It appears that after childbirth, the share of men with short commutes strongly drops, while for women this does not occur,” says the study.

 

It also found that workers with a higher wage are less likely to move jobs. “Consequently,’ it says, ‘women with children bear a higher cost of commuting.” 

 

The average commute for men and women before the birth of their first child is found to be similar – men commute 13.2km and women 12.3km, a difference of 8 per cent. However after their first child, fathers increase their commuting distance by approximately 30 minutes or 2.4km to 15km while for mothers, commuting distance increases by just 0.4km to 12.7km. 

 

Find out more Read the study, Commuting, gender and children