Research Shows Commuting Time Disproportionately Reduces Working Mothers' Employment

For all of the professional gains women have made over the past several decades, one stubborn measure of inequality—the gender wage gap—has been especially difficult to stamp out.

In nearly every country on Earth, the arrival of children tends to coincide with a lasting drop in employment and earnings for moms but not dads.

Conversations about how to better support working mothers typically focus on family policy, such as subsidized child care and paid parental leave.

But one significant factor affecting moms' employment remains largely overlooked: commuting time.

A growing body of research shows how longer travel times affect moms' ability to work.