Motherhood and Scientific Productivity

Abstract

Virtually all studies on scientific productivity and gender find that men publish more than women. Several investigations indicate that women with children are more productive than childless women, which in turn has been the basis for claiming that women's lower productivity cannot be due to maternal responsibilities. This Note suggests that comparisons between women with children, and those without, can be misleading. When children's age is introduced as a variable, child care turns out to be a critical factor for productivity. While women with children less than ten years of age are considerably less productive than their male counterparts, women with all their children older than this are as productive as men in the same family situation and academic position.