Morien El Haj

I am a doctoral researcher in labour economics at Ghent University. My doctoral research investigates how parenthood shapes labour market outcomes. More broadly, I am interested in gender inequality in the workplace and how organisations can better support working women. I look forward to pursuing these questions further and will be on the academic job market in 2027.

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

— Marie Curie

Featured posts

Working parents would trade a 20% pay rise for childcare at work

A scenario experiment shows that working mothers and fathers with young children value employer-provided childcare so highly that many would trade a 20% pay rise for it.

March 2026

5 min

What explains the motherhood penalty in hiring?

A vignette experiment with 452 Flemish recruiters shows that employers see mothers as less ambitious, less flexible, more often absent, and less willing to work overtime, which lowers their hiring chances. Fathers are largely spared.

August 2025

5 min

Parenthood discrimination in the labour market: What we know

A systematic review of all the international experimental evidence shows that mothers are penalised in hiring, pay, and promotion, while fathers often gain a bonus.

November 2024

5 min

This page was last updated on 11 August 2026.