Wage gap for women

The study found--and this isn't news to anyone who follows this sort of thing--that most of the so-called earnings gap "is due to women taking time out of the labor force and then working less after having children":

It's notable that the earnings of some women did not fall very much after they had children and any drop in income did not persist after a few years. But these women often had a "lower" earning spouse (income under $100,000). A large and sustained drop in income is highly correlated with having children and a high-earning husband.

It's not clear why that might be. It could be high-achieving women chose less ambitious husbands, anticipating that they'll be more available to help with childcare. Sheryl Sandberg concedes that "leaning in" and having a family requires a supportive partner. Or it could be once some women had children they took less demanding jobs simply because they had the luxury of more work life balance. In light of this, advice that urges women to marry well seem all the more antiquated. If you want to have it all, best not aspire to being one half of a power-couple.