Abstract
This paper provides new evidence on the effect of a national expansion of paid maternity leave on the labor-market outcomes of women in the United States. I develop an identification strategy that exploits the staggered expansion of paid leave through short-term disability insurance in the 1960s and 1970s. The policy expanded leave-taking among new mothers but also precipitated a decrease in hourly wages, employment, and family income among women of child-bearing age. The results suggest that even modestly generous, widespread expansions of paid family leave policies have the potential to widen gender gaps in the labor market.