15 Revealing Insights Into the Gender Pay Gap in the US
It may not come as a surprise that women in the US earn less than men. In fact, there is a wage gap between genders that hovers around 16% for comparable jobs. Despite decades of attention and advocacy, the fight for income equality feels like a marathon with no finish line in sight. Why is it that women continue to bring home smaller paychecks than their male counterparts? The reasons are layered and complex and sometimes just downright baffling. We wanted to take a closer look at the key factors fueling this disparity and talk about some of the major statistics revealed by Fobes about the gender pay gap in the United States.
This article is based on the latest Gender Pay Gap Statistics published in Forbes.
The Motherhood Problem
Let’s start off with the biggest and most obvious issue: motherhood. Most women tend to put their careers on pause when they have children. In fact, they kind of have to pause for at least a day after they give birth. Most businesses see pregnant women (or even women of childbearing age) as a liability because they don’t want to pay for their family leave.
While laws against pregnancy discrimination exist on the books, they are often shaky. Insufficient protection leaves women at the mercy of employers in terms of both family leave and their salaries. This leads to lower wages.
The SAHM Issue
Many women choose to stay at home with their children, though it’s often because they can’t afford to have a nanny while they work. Unfortunately, the stay-at-home life new moms enjoy comes with a massive price to their careers: no more work experience.
Once you drop out of the work world for years at a time, employers are going to be leery of hiring you. Employers often know that women struggle to find work after a baby, and they exploit that desperation by lowballing them.
Irrelevant Experience
If you become a stay-at-home wife or mother, watch out. The knowledge you have right now might not be relevant in five years. Moms who leave work only to return later often find themselves “outgamed” by women who stayed in the work world.
This is particularly biting because women are often encouraged to “relax and take it easy” for a bit after their kids hit preschool, which further cripples their skills. Due to their rusty or even lack of modern experience, many women end up earning pennies on the dollar for the same job they used to have.
Quiet Assumptions On Marriage
Back in the day, women would often go into certain fields (such as nursing) where they would be surrounded by men. While their work was grueling and often low-paid, they still did it. It wasn’t just to support their families. It was generally a way to find their spouse.
Though the attitude is waning, many smaller offices tend to assume women will quit their jobs once they find a spouse. Because a lot of male bosses still make that assumption, they often feel less guilty about paying women less. Speaking of…
The Marriage Discrepancy
Did you know that married men earn more than their single and divorced counterparts? This is often because employers quietly assume married men are more productive—or because they believe married men are providing for their families.
Traditionally, employers would give men a raise when they got married. This practice seems to have carried over. Many male employers subconsciously assume that married women don’t need to earn as much a living because they “have a man to take care of them.”
Workplace Discrimination
Though the motherhood issue tends to be at the front of “reasons” why women get paid less, the truth is that there is a noticeable level of discrimination as far as employment goes. Women still earn 84 cents for every dollar men get, even if the woman is child-free.
Though we don’t like to admit it as a society, women are still discriminated against in the workplace. In some fields, the harassment is enough to make women quit after several years. If you are a woman of color, that pay gap is often even more noticeable.
Devalued At Work
Did you ever have the feeling that you just weren’t as appreciated as you should have been at a workplace? As it turns out, you might have been onto something. The feelings you got were likely spot on. Women are regularly devalued in the workplace.
Because many jobs are deemed “women’s work,” pink-collar jobs often have lower paychecks associated with them. This is especially noticeable in traditional jobs for women, such as educational or caretaking jobs.
“Be Nice!”
It’s not a secret that most women are socialized to put their needs on the back burner. You might have been told to “be nice” or to “keep sweet,” but the truth is that this advice tends to harm women at work. Women are more likely to short-sell themselves.
In a negotiation, they’ll often lowball their potential employer. This is something most men don’t do. They also are less likely to ask for a promotion or raise.
What To Do?
So, you might wonder what you can do to avoid the common traps women face in the office. You deserve to have equal pay. The problem is getting that extra money that you’re actually owed. Thankfully, there are ways to make gender parity a reality.
The most obvious thing you should do is vote for candidates that support workers’ rights, equal pay, and similar policies. The more female-friendly the candidate is, the better. But that’s a “macro” thing. Let’s talk about how to bolster your own paycheck rather than working with the political machines of the day.
Aim Higher
When you’re talking to a potential employer, do your homework. Find out the average income for someone in that seat, and don’t be afraid to ask for slightly higher than you normally would. The worst that could happen is you get told “no,” and you have to settle for less.
Contrary to popular belief, employers don’t judge you if you’re being reasonable. And if they do? Well, that’s not someone you want to work for.
Job Hop
Sometimes, you can be the sweetest, juiciest peach on the market, but the people in front of you just don’t like peaches. Sadly, that holds true for workplaces. Some workplaces don’t like women working in them and will do everything in their legal power to treat you as less than what you’re worth.
If you notice this, the best thing you can do is apply for other jobs and walk. Oh, and warn a sister. You don’t want other women to go through what you did, right?
Job Choice
Women tend to choose jobs that historically pay less. For example, many women opt for careers like teaching, which pays just a fraction of an engineer’s salary. Because women are drawn toward certain jobs and hired for specific types of jobs, their income is naturally lower. When you look at gender and occupational choice, women simply tend to choose lower-earning careers, which means they will make less, in general, than men.
Part Time Work
A study showed that 57% of the part-time workforce is made up of women. That shows that women are more likely to have part-time jobs rather than full-time careers. They will clearly make less money simply because they are not working a full-time job or putting in extra hours at the office to prove their value. Many economists link part-time work to a woman’s desire to raise a family. They are not always able to work full-time jobs and make the type of money that their male counterparts can make.
Be That Boss
The easiest way to ensure you get a good paycheck is to become the boss you always wanted to be. Women are opening up businesses more frequently than ever before. So, if you’re not happy with the gender pay gap, you can be the one to help close it. The more women in power we have, the easier it will be to address injustice. And, if you’re a boss, you can also choose to take more time off and have fun in the sun.
More Education May Not Be Good
Most people assume that more education means better pay. But for women, the gender pay gap tells a different story. Women with bachelor’s degrees earn just 74 cents for every dollar earned by equally educated men. And the gap doesn’t shrink with advanced degrees. It actually grows, highlighting how education alone isn’t enough to level the playing field.
This article is based on the latest Gender Pay Gap Statistics published in Forbes.
