Is there a marriage or parenthood effect on police income?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the gendered effects of marriage and parenthood on income inequality among police officers. Design/methodology/approach This study uses survey data collected by the Current Population Survey (CPS) from 1976 to 2018. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is employed to analyze the effect of gender, marriage and parenthood on the yearly income of police officers, controlling for other demographic variables. Findings The analyses reveal that there is a large income difference among men and women police officers and the compensation processes appear strongly gendered based on family composition. Police women experience a large motherhood income penalty, while police men with traditional family structures have significant income advantages. Research limitations/implications While the CPS dataset allows us to track national level trends of within-occupational income inequality, these data are unable to provide detailed information on the specifics of each police job, such as rank of police officers or work experience. Despite these limitations, this study uncovers important patterns in how family structure shapes police income. Originality/value The present study fills the knowledge gap about marriage and motherhood penalty among police. This study represents one of the first attempts to explore the gendered compensation processes that are shaped by marriage and parenthood status among police officers at a national level.