Gender wage penalty in parenthood: A comparative study of South Korea and Japan

Both South Korea and Japan attach significant importance to women′s marriage and their role in the family. Based on this fact, the present study analyzed gender wage penalty in parenthood in both the countries and compared the size and characteristics. We used conditional quantile regression models with counterfactual decomposition, and panel data from South Korea and Japan for 2007–2014. Results suggest that the gender wage penalty in parenthood of Japan was greater than in South Korea, indicating that discrimination against mother-workers in Japan is more serious than in South Korea. Analysis by wage distribution showed that the gender wage penalty in parenthood was high in the low-wage group in South Korea, whereas it was high for the high-wage group in Japan. This finding indicates that South Korea needs to give fair treatment to the low-wage group and mother-workers of small and medium enterprises, while Japan needs to alleviate discrimination against high-wage mother-workers.