This article addresses the effect of parenthood on pay, examining potential reasons for differences between Australia and the UK that are evident in spite of their similarly minimalist, male breadwinner style approaches to work/ family issues. Although cross-national differences reflect complex intersections of policy combinations, institutional frameworks, patterns of employment and gender contracts that cannot be assessed in a single analysis, the data used in this analysis uncover some of the factors that contribute to different outcomes. Motherhood penalties in the UK appear to be associated primarily with the comparatively low level of part-time earnings in that country, while higher premiums to fatherhood at least in part reflect a wider overall wage distribution. These findings reinforce the need to interpret earnings effects of parenthood within the context of national patterns of employment and wage distribution, and highlight the breadth of strategies needed to deliver more equitable outcomes.
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