Full-time working fathers out-earn their childless counterparts by more than a fifth, research has found.
A study of 17,000 workers commissioned by the TUC has found than full time working fathers earn, on average, 21% more than men without children.
The research also found that dads with two children typically earn 9% more than those with just one child.
Full-time working mothers, however, suffer a “wage penalty”, typically earning 11% less than their childless colleagues.
The report said the reasons for the “fatherhood bonus” were not clear, though they were likely to relate to hours worked, increased effort and positive discrimination.
According to official labour market statistics, full-time working men with dependent children work on average half an hour longer each week than men without children.
Full-time working women with children, conversely, work around an hour less a week than those without children.
The TUC also cited other research that found that CVs from men with children were viewed more favourably than those from men without children.
In contrast, CVs from mothers were marked down compared to those from childless women.
It said the research reflected assumptions that fathers were the main breadwinners while mothers were expected to fit in work around looking after their children.
“It says much about current attitudes that men with children are seen as more committed by employers, while mothers are still often treated as liabilities,” said TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady.