Bachelor Student Prize Winner

Eighteen students completed their bachelor's degree in 2020 with a thesis that was labelled ‘excellent’ by their faculty. Here you will find a short introduction to these excellent theses in the form of an "elevator pitch" from each student, plus a video in which the supervisor briefly addresses the lucky winner.

Joanne Snel

 Faculty of Science and Engineering | University College Maastricht

"'The ‘fatherhood penalty’: How fathers’ use of parental leave impacts their wages"

Joanne's elevator pitch 
In stark opposition to the motherhood penalty, working fathers tend to observe higher earnings relative to childless men. Due to a recent shift in family policy and gender expectations in the West, fathers are assuming a more active role in childcare, including taking up (longer periods of) parental leave. One such reform can be seen in Germany, where, since 2007, fathers are entitled to two months of non-transferable parental leave. In my thesis, I perform a panel analysis of men’s earnings to explore whether these fathers who opt to take leave incur wage penalties, as mothers do.