in many countries labour market activity among childless men and women is fairly similar but large differences tend to emerge once women become mothers and men become fathers oecd while in some countries like portugal and the netherlands mothers frequently return to paid work after a few months of paid leave oecd wall and escobedo in many others the share of mothers actually at work rebounds only once children start to enter preprimary education at around age three or primary school at about age six oecd in many countries women who experience childbirth are far more likely than those who do not to suffer from a large drop in income from one year to the next figure indeed in the czech republic iceland the netherlands and sweden women are approximately twice as likely to experience a yearonyear decrease of or more in their household disposable income when they have a child