Much of the "Motherhood Penalty" that tips women’s wage trajectories lower than men’s trajectories has been attributed to time out of the labor market – either for maternity leave or because of subsequent scaling back of hours. We explore whether lost/interrupted sleep accounts for some of this penalty, either as a proximate cause for scaling back on hours or because of lower productivity upon returning to work.

A baby’s sleep may have lasting consequences on her parents’ earnings if (a) sleep loss continues for several years, (b) sleep loss (of either short of long duration) leads to scaling back of labor force participation, or (c) sleep loss (of either short or long duration) produces worse work and bosses put outsized weight on post-leave work.

The project contains several testable hypotheses:
- Lost/interrupted sleep can account for some of the motherhood penalty
- Lost/interrupted sleep leads to decreased labor force participation
- Lost/interrupted sleep should vary inversely with duration of parental leave since baby sleep is often worse immediately after birth
- If lost/interrupted sleep is particularly important for creative/executive tasks, one may see greater portions of the motherhood penalty explained in jobs that use those faculties.
- The sleep penalty should be smaller if there is paternal/household help