The Long-Term Effects of California’s 2004 Paid Family Leave Act on Women’s Careers: Evidence from U

[OfTheCross]

This paper uses IRS tax data to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of California’s 2004 Paid Family Leave Act (PFLA) on women’s careers.

We find little evidence that PFLA increased women’s employment, wage earnings, or attachment to employers.

For new mothers, taking up PFLA reduced employment by 7 percent and lowered annual wages by 8 percent six to ten years after giving birth.

Overall, PFLA tended to reduce the number of children born and, by decreasing mothers’ time at work, increase time spent with children.

link: https://equitablegrowth.org/working-papers/the-long-term-effects-of-californias-2004-paid-family-leave-act-on-womens-careers-evidence-from-u-s-tax-data/