Childbearing Age and the Shadow Mommy Effect on Hiring: A Large-Scale Field Experiment
48 Pages Posted: 25 Aug 2022 Last revised: 15 Nov 2024
Date Written: August 23, 2024
Abstract
This study examines the shadow mommy effect—discrimination against women of prime childbearing age in the labor market. We sent 35,713 fabricated CVs to genuine job advertisements in the IT, accounting, and HR sectors across four major cities in China, accurately simulating real job-seeking conditions. Our findings reveal that women of prime childbearing age face disadvantages in the job search process, even when their maternal and marital status is not disclosed. The impact of this effect varies by occupation, firm ownership, and location. Consistent with intersectionality theory, our results suggest that employers’ decision biases are largely shaped by the intersection of gender and age perceptions. Social expectations regarding motherhood heighten concerns about the costs associated with gendered parental responsibilities, thereby driving the shadow mommy effect.
Keywords: Correspondence Study, Labor Market Discrimination, Motherhood Penalty, Fertility, Childbearing age, Gender
JEL Classification: C93, J71, J16, M51
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