While multinational enterprises (MNEs) are widely recognized for providing employment to a significant number of women around the globe, empirical evidence suggests that existing gender inequalities may be aggravated rather than alleviated in their subsidiaries. We build on gender theory to better understand how gender is construed and enacted differently in MNE subsidiaries compared to domestic firms, particularly with regard to the differential effects of parenthood on wage gaps for male versus female employees. Because of the relatively more demanding working conditions in MNE subsidiaries and their gendered policies and practices, we hypothesize that the motherhood penalty and fatherhood bonus are larger in MNE subsidiaries than in domestic firms. Using an extensive database of micro-level data of over 36,500 employees in 57 countries, we find a larger fatherhood bonus in MNE subsidiaries compared to domestic firms, but no significant difference in the motherhood penalty. Our results suggest that shifting entrenched gendered social beliefs and divisions of household labor is not the only pathway to gender equality, and call for a critical examination of gender-related values, perceptions, policies, and practices in MNEs, beyond a focus on supporting women (with children). We discuss managerial, theoretical, and societal implications accordingly.

虽然跨国企业 (MNE) 因向全球大量女性提供就业机会而受到广泛认可，但经验证据表明，其子公司中现有的性别不平等现象可能会加剧而不是缓解。我们以性别理论为基础，更好地理解与国内企业相比，跨国公司子公司对性别的解释和实施有何不同，特别是在父母身份对男女员工工资差距的差异影响方面。由于跨国公司子公司相对要求更高的工作条件及其性别政策和做法，我们假设跨国公司子公司的母亲惩罚和父亲奖金比国内企业更大。通过使用包含 57 个国家超过 36,500 名员工的微观数据的广泛数据库，我们发现与国内企业相比，跨国公司子公司的父亲奖金更高，但母亲惩罚没有显着差异。我们的研究结果表明，改变根深蒂固的性别社会信仰和家庭劳动分工并不是实现性别平等的唯一途径，并呼吁对跨国企业中与性别相关的价值观、观念、政策和实践进行严格审查，而不仅仅是关注支持女性（与孩子一起）。我们相应地讨论了管理、理论和社会影响。