Abstract
Childbearing suppresses heterosexual women’s wage incomes and this “motherhood penalty” does not diminish over time. This study broadens the topic by comparing the motherhood penalty between mothers in heterosexual and same-sex relationships. Using the 2013 to 2015 American Community Survey data and the novel same-sex couple identifier, this study shows that women in same-sex relationships are not affected by changes in parental status. The null result implies that the perceived competence and normative discrimination plays an important part in compositing the penalty.