The motherhood penalty on poverty risk within couples in Germany

This paper examines how the transition to parenthood affects the gender-specific poverty risk within couples, highlighting the persistent economic vulnerability of partnered mothers in Germany. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1990–2019) and an event study design, the analysis tracks poverty dynamics among partnered individuals in the eight years around the birth of their first child and compares gender-specific poverty risk under the assumptions of full income pooling (assessing household poverty risk) and no income pooling (assessing individual poverty risk). While the average household poverty risk remains low and stable around childbirth, the average individual poverty risk for women rises sharply, peaking at 59% one year after childbirth and persisting at a high level up to five years later, indicating a motherhood penalty relative to their partners and childless women. Analyses by year of first birth show a declining yet persistent motherhood penalty on women’s poverty risk for younger cohorts. The findings suggest that reliance on household poverty measures masks individual vulnerability, particularly among mothers, and highlight the need for poverty measures that capture individual economic resilience. These findings call for further policy and research attention to individual poverty measures to inform strategies that promote equitable economic outcomes within partnerships.