50/50 co-parenting schedules close pay gaps

Research in Spain, Sweden and our own survey found more time equality means more pay for women

Adapted from The 50/50 Solution (Sourcebooks).

50/50 schedules when parents live apart is not just good for kids — it also closes gender pay and care gaps, not only for families who practice it, but society at large, studies find.

Old news: 50/50 parenting is good for kids

For decades, social scientists have studied various parenting schedules, and the evidence is compelling: Academic, social, emotional and dozens of other outcomes in children improve the closer the schedule is to a 50/50 split — when a child’s time is shared equally between mom and dad’s homes. Researchers know that schedule increases the likelihood of meaningful father involvement, lessens the children’s anxiety that they might lose contact with one parent (which is likely when the schedule is uneven), and increases the family, social and financial resources that come with having two meaningfully involved parents.

The science is robust: A 2023 meta-analysis of thirty-nine studies published between 2010 and 2022, with a …