Loss of Earnings Suffered by Women with Children

  • Hedwig Lutz

Women in Austria suffer a substantial loss of earnings once they have children. By the time the youngest child has grown up, the loss accumulates to between € 103,000 (one child) and € 136,000 (three or more children), provided that the woman returns to gainful employment. If, however, the woman stops working after giving birth to her first child, her loss will rise to over € 200,000. The likelihood of such a loss will be the lower the fewer children a woman has and the higher her earning capacity is in the labour market.