A new study just reported on Good Morning America this week as I was writing this shows that the gender gap has not budged. Women make 76.5 cents on the dollar to every man!
We have been exploring the possible underlying reasons for why women are paid less than men, even when you adjust for the objective possibilities such as less time on the job and performance differences. In this last installment, I will tackle the assertion that women are not as concerned about pay as men, rather women are more concerned about the quality of their work experience than how much they make.
Some argue that women earn less as a result of personal choices that include:
- Taking time out of the workforce for child or elder care
- Working in less lucrative careers
- Working part-time
However, even when experts account for all of these other reasons there is still 40% of the pay gap that is not accounted for by any of these reasons.
Let’s though, for a moment consider the assertion that women make choices that inhibit their chances for higher salaries.
I posit that societal expectations influence the choices that women make. For example, if the family decides that one parent will take primary responsibility for child care, it is more often the woman because it makes the most economic sense. I am aware of a number of situations where the man stays home because the woman does earn more. So it may not be that women are making an independent choice to drop out of the workforce, but rather it is connected to the very issue that women earn less. It is somewhat of a catch 22.
Another reason that has been offered is women “choose” less lucrative careers. My first question is who decides which careers are most lucrative? Why, for example do teachers make so much less than stock brokers? Why do we not value the people we entrust to educate our children as much as we value those who monitor financial markets?
Many of the more lucrative careers in science, technology and finance, for example, have been more difficult for women to penetrate. Widespread stereotypes still exist about women’s capabilities to excel in math and science. While such assumptions are changing and many more women are pursuing careers previously dominated by men, women in these careers are still more likely to be relegated to dead-ended roles. A study reported in the Harvard Business Review showed that over half of the women in STEM fields drop out after about 8 years in the field and their reasons include hostile work environment and lack of progress.
The increase in the number of studies and pundits who blame women for the pay gap is frustrating and disheartening. The claims that the disparities exist because women are poor negotiators, that they do not “lean in” and that they really aren’t as concerned with pay are all “POPPYCOCK” as my mother used to say.
Women earn less money than similarly qualified men as a result of complex, deep- seated, engrained, historical, global biases about women that drive behaviors and decisions.
Maybe I am naïve but I think the inclusion solution is easy, if we really wanted to ensure equal pay. Simply conduct in-depth salary analysis to examine where and why the disparities exist. Conduct job content analysis to look at how jobs primarily held by women are evaluated compared to those more likely to be performed by men. Based on the results of the analysis, CORRECT INEQUITIES!
Legislative remedies continue to be pursued as well. In January, Maryland Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski reintroduced a bill in Congress called Paycheck Fairness Act. The Paycheck Fairness Act takes significant steps to close loopholes in the original pay discrimination law, the Equal Pay Act, and to ensure that women can investigate whether they are being discriminated against. It also makes stronger penalties so that employers don’t violate pay discrimination laws. Included in the bill, too, is a grant for a salary-negotiation training program for women, who tend to be reluctant to negotiate. Sadly, the prognosis it that there is only a 10% chance of this bill getting out of committee and a 0% change of passage.
I hope my message throughout this series is clear: Let’s stop blaming women for the persistent inequities in pay. They are not to blame and no amount of negotiation skill training will fix the problem. No extra “leaning in” will fix the problem. The problem will be fixed when we simply pay women what they are worth…when leaders will not tolerate disparities in their organizations…when there are stiffer penalties for violators!
