Economic trajectories of women: the relationship between abortion and women’s salary growth.

Women’s reproductive rights are intensely debated, with abortion laws in the United States constantly changing. However, the long-term economic consequences of abortion remain largely unknown due to a lack of robust research in this area. Drawing on lifespan career theory, we theorize that pregnancy during the early-career period represents a pivotal inflection point. It initiates divergent reproductive pathways with lasting, path-dependent effects on women’s economic trajectories. We conceptualize abortion as a distinct and constrained early-career event that may be associated with career development in ways that differ meaningfully from both parenthood and nonpregnancy. Using national longitudinal data from 6,218 participants in the United States (1979–2020), we examine how having an abortion, compared with becoming a parent or not experiencing pregnancy at all, is related to women’s long-term economic trajectories. Results show that women who had an abortion, and those who did not becomepregnant,earned significantly more over a 30-year period than those who became mothers by an estimated $398,000 ($495,000 in 2025 dollars) and $448,000 ($556,000 in 2025 dollars), respectively. These findings extend lifespan career theory by conceptualizing reproductive decisions during one’s early career as critical but understudied career-defining events that are associated with women’s economic mobility. The results also suggest several potential policy implications: Protecting access to contraception and abortion, and providing mothers with structural family support mechanisms such a job-protected paid parental leave and subsidized childcare, may help women achieve sustained economic stability and career advancement.