Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : This article investigates the impact of parenthood on women’s labour market outcomes in Belgium. Using administrative data and an event study design, we show that mothers lose 32% of their labour earnings relative to fathers, up to eight years after the birth of their first child. Furthermore, we find a strong positive correlation between the size of the child penalty for a given sector and the share of its workers who report working atypical work schedules or irregular hours, suggesting that job characteristics matter in determining the size of the child penalty.