Women's income shrinks significantly in marriage: German institute

Marriage costs women on average one-fifth of their income, according to researchers at Munich's ifo Institute, who released their findings on Friday, coinciding with Equal Pay Day.

"Our research shows that in a marriage, the income disparities between men and women increase, and this is independent of the birth of children," said ifo researcher Elena Herold. The effects become apparent within a few years after marriage, she added.

Equal Pay Day - marked in Germany on March 7 this year, or 18% into the year - symbolically represents the amount of the year that women work for free on average, compared to the salaries received by men for equal labour.

Looking at how the incomes of men and women change after marriage compared to the year before the wedding, there are no major anomalies for men, according to Herold. For women, however, she indicated that there is a strong decline over several years.

"This is not only due to marriage, as often the first children arrive in the years following the wedding. But even if you factor out this effect, there is a deterioration of income by 20% for women." Including the effects of having children, it is even about half, she said.

The difference, she noted, is made by marriage, not cohabitation: "For couples who lived together before marriage, we see no different effects than those who only move in together with the wedding," said Herold. Presumably, the greater legal security provided by marriage encourages women to reduce their working hours, she added.

Hourly wages not affected

The decline in income is not due to lower wages for women. There are no significant changes in earnings per hour as a result of marriage. Rather, about one in 10 women stops working altogether, and the rest work about one-fifth less, with the effect developing over several years.

Parallel to this, the work done by women in the household increases by about one-fifth - not including child-rearing. This is not observed in men, the study found.

According to the study, one reason for the reduction in working hours is disincentives in the tax system. "A quarter of the decrease in income for married women is due to the standard marital status relief," said Herold.

Another aspect is gender roles. "For women who grew up in East Germany before reunification, we see less negative effects than for women from West Germany," said Herold.

The income decline for women after marriage is not solely a German phenomenon.

Detailed income data for international comparisons is difficult to obtain, said Herold, "but if you look at how many women completely stop working in the years after the wedding, Germany is approximately in the European middle ground. In the Netherlands or Ireland, the rates are much higher, as well as in Switzerland or Greece."