ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > September > 13 > Entry
Will women ever catch up?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The latest census figures on male and female earnings just came out. The news is not encouraging although some might argue otherwise.
Men had inflation adjusted median earnings of $41,400 last year. Women earned a median salary of $31,900. Apparently this earnings gap has not changed much over the last few years.
The wage gap has been shrinking, albeit slowly, over time. In the last 16 years the female to male earnings ratio has increased from 60% to 77%.
Why is this? Men and women started at lower salaries years ago and therefore have been playing catch up ever since.
Another key explanation revolves around the differences between men and women. Most women don’t ask for more money. I have seen this in my consulting practice for years.
Before they take a job, women often don’t see negotiating salary as an option they have. Since it is always harder to bump up a salary once they are hired, getting increases becomes a real challenge.
Is it that we have been conditioned to play nice and not push too hard for fear being seen as too pushy? Or is it a lack of confidence?
And what about men? In general, men see asking for more money as something they deserve. They negotiate, go for it (and often they get it!) That makes it all the more easy for the men who have follow in their path, etc., etc.
Also, though very difficult to prove, there is still subtle bias going on. I have heard male managers wonder why they should offer a woman more money if “she is just going to leave the workforce to attend to her family”.
While they don’t typically verbalize this, it seems to be a notion still flying around. Organizations need to take a lead in promoting salary equity as well.
When will we ever get to the point where this difference is not an issue? Will we still be singing the same tune at the next census? To this blogger, the song is getting old.
Have you been affected by this issue? Why is this gap still there? Any ideas for individuals and/or companies on making this a non-issue?
Comments
By steward clinton
September 13, 2006 05:05 PM | Link to this
I would like to comment that even though males may make more in certain industries if you look at the per capita in terms of female to male there are a lot more females out there working than males, especially in the African American community. African American males seem to be the second class citizen. We havent had any grants created to help the African American male get back on his feet. If there are some out there please let us know. Since the ratio for women to men is like 5+ females for every man you gotta consider this factor in the job market, meaning there are a lot more women making 30+ than males, we dont have the numbers to compete with women. We often times settle jobs dealing with our hands or a technical job. This statement is part opinion, mostly fact. Remember the article done in the New York times “The Plight of the Black Man Thickens.” If you mean your Caucasian counter parts then just say that, but concerning African American males as a whole there is no competition. Thats how I feel as a African American male. Thanks
By Nelson
September 14, 2006 01:05 PM | Link to this
I would encourage women who are upset about the pay gap to read “Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap — and What Women Can Do About It” written by Warren Farrell, PhD, former National Organization of Women New York state chapter president.
The reality is the “same job, same pay” talking point ignores factors including seniority (a problem created for women by diversity programs that promote them ahead of their male peers) and what men are culturally conditioned to put up with for the pay they receive. In many fields, women are actually paid more than men for the same work at the same level of seniority.
The bias mentioned in the blog is “very difficult to prove” because the facts of the market simply don’t support it as a large-scale phenomenon beyond anecdotes and sexist assumptions that women should be granted equal compensation as men even in cases where they offer less long-term reliability.
(That the anecdote in the blog was about women leaving the workforce to be stay-at-home moms is painfully ironic, considering that —culturally speaking— this is not an option for the vast majority of men. Remind me: the bias is against whom?)
There are readily available ways for women to earn more pay (Dr. Farrell wrote the book genuinely to help women, not merely to debunk fraudulent political rhetoric) but none of the solutions start with blindly following professional activism down the knee-jerk and sexist path of always pointing the finger at men for everything that happens to women.