US Promotes Birth Incentives, But Fails Mothers: New Report Reveals Stark Wage Gaps Ahead of Mother’s Day
April 30, 2025 Contact: Chandler Rollins, rollins@iwpr.org
US Promotes Birth Incentives, But Fails Mothers: New Report Reveals Stark Wage Gaps Ahead of Mother’s Day
While political leaders debate pronatalist policies, new IWPR data shows the US economy isn’t built to support the mothers we already have—moms are penalized with lower pay in every state.
Washington, DC— As the nation gears up to celebrate Mother’s Day, a new report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) confronts the harsh economic reality facing American moms. The 2025 Mom’s Equal Pay Day report from IWPR, timed to coincide with Mother’s Day and gaining added relevance amid a growing national conversation around motherhood, reveals that mothers remain deeply undervalued where it counts most: in their paychecks. Across the country, moms still face staggering wage penalties, earning far less than fathers, with some making less than half as much, especially if they are Black, Latina, or Native American.
“This should be a moment to celebrate and uplift mothers and the multitude of roles they play inside and outside of our homes,” said Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of IWPR. “Instead, the data show that we’re systematically devaluing their work—both paid and unpaid.”
Despite rising workforce participation—nearly 74 percent of moms with children under 13 were employed or actively seeking work in 2024—mothers earned just 61.8 cents for every dollar paid to fathers in 2023. Across all 50 states and DC, at least half of all mothers worked full-time year-round. And even when doing so, the gap improves only slightly, to 74.3 cents—a $19,000 annual income loss.
IWPR’s state-level analysis depicts just how deep the gaps run (see full state-level data here):
· Utah mothers earned just 43.9 cents per dollar—the widest gap in the country.
· Louisiana mothers working full-time year-round earned only 62.1 cents per dollar.
· In DC, mothers earned the most ($80,000), but still $45,000 less than fathers—the largest dollar gap in the US.
· Only Vermont and Rhode Island paid full-time working mothers more than 80 cents per dollar compared to fathers.
The gaps are even more severe for mothers of color:
· Latina mothers earned just 42.7 cents per dollar compared to White fathers.
· In New Jersey, the gap was even worse—just 29.8 cents on the dollar.
· Native American and Black mothers consistently earned less than half of what White fathers earned, even with full-time work.
The report arrives on the heels of last month’s Department of Health and Human Services cuts to critical maternal and child health programs—and amid new proposals from the Trump administration to offer cash bonuses to married parents as a response to the country’s declining birth rate. But IWPR researchers say these pronatalist policies miss the point and, without structural reforms, ignore the real costs of parenting.
“You can’t bonus your way out of a birth rate crisis when motherhood comes with a $19,000 pay cut,” said Taylor. “The economy for parents is broken—and we’re failing the very people that we expect to grow it.”
IWPR calls for urgent policy action to tackle the root causes of the motherhood penalty:
· Paid family and medical leave
· Affordable, accessible child care
· Fair scheduling and workplace protections
· Enforcement of pay equity and salary transparency
· Access to comprehensive reproductive and maternal health care
“This Mother’s Day, a bouquet of flowers won’t cut it,” said Taylor. “If we truly want to honor moms—especially the ones we already have—we need policy, not platitudes.”
You can read the full report and state-by-state earnings data here.
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