Actually, there is a documented difference between the pay rate of men and women working the same job, with the same years of experience, working the same hours. A boss is more likely to give the highest possible raise to a man than a woman, and over time this causes the gap to widen. Especially for percentage biased raises.
That does happen, but in most countries it is illegal to discriminate in that way and if you find out a male/female colleague with same same experience and position gets paid more you can report it. But the largest part of the wage gap consists of men and women choosing to work at different types of jobs and different hours etc etc.
Some of the pay gap is caused by that, but the problem is companies have found ways to legalize discrimination. They simply give evaluation based raises, and then evaluate men higher than women for the exact same work. And usually there is no means for legal recourse.
Also, men are statistically far more likely to get promotions when compared to women of the same qualifications. Part of this is actually that promotions tend go be handed out by bosses to people who have worked closely with them and men (who have the boss positions far more often) regularly feel uncomfortable working closely with women. Often out of fear of sexual harassment allegations.
It's a problem with no clear and easy solution, but it is not a problem that is caused primarily by women choosing worse paying jobs.
Also, in America is is frowned upon to talk about what you make, and in many jobs it is against company policy. Which means finding out your male co worker makes more than you and bringing it to HR could get you fired. Many women can't fight the system in any meaningful way because working within the system, regardless of its discrimination, is how you pay the bills.
Okay, then can we see what percentage of difference it is? An aggregate of wage differences between people working the same job and hours, with similar qualifications?
Because as far as I'm aware, the largest discrepancies arise when you ignore the difference in working hours, types and levels of jobs, and qualifications. If I remember correctly (although unlikely to find the source now), the wage gap if accounted for in all mentioned ways is reduced to somewhere between 5-9%. And then once you find that value, you can dig in as to why.
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Just curious if you have the value.
The disparity in hours is oft quoted but not a serious talking point on the broad issue- true or not. Most technology jobs are exempt jobs- most management positions etc. so hours worked isn’t particularly relevant where a salaried position like that in most professional fields is concerned. We only need to account for hours when discussing hourly employees or contractors for the most part. Further more- and this is shocking to many- hours worked doesn’t equate to quality or quantity of worked performed directly.
As a matter of fact- I’ve worked for many companies that time track and penalize employees on or off salary who work significantly more hours than a standard week. Why? Simple. Time management. An effective manager will give you a volume of work which can be completed within your work schedule. In this scenario the employee who doesn’t complete their work is one who doesn’t manage their time well or isn’t skilled in the job. A salaried position- even an hourly position- has the pay rate set off of an anticipated weekly hour limit.
Otherwise it would be nigh impossible for the employer to know if they could afford an employee, and for the employee to gauge the work offer and decide if the compensation was worth the job as well as for hourly workers to approximate their pay and compare the average projected pay to their needs and decide on the position.
Thusly outside certain fields like trade work, entertainment, retail, or police work where large surpluses of hours are a primary contributor to earnings and often a necessary and anticipated component of making a “fair” wage for the job- the hours worked isn’t really a relevant component especially when comparing identical jobs. If we both work with a quota and I meet my quota 4 hours before you every day- is that reason to pay me less or to pay me more and possibly increase my quota?
Now if we DO agree and can show a discrepancy in hours- we still have to ask of that isn’t a part of the problem? The reason is important. Is it cultural that women are raised or feel a social pressure to not aggressively seek hours? Are they under reporting hours or men over reporting? are their contributions not being recognized? Are they not being given the same opportunities for additional hours or is there some barrier stopping them from requesting or causing their requests to be denied?
It’s a rabbit hole- but the question of women making less isn’t one of hours or even wages- two people can be on the same pay plan but gross different amounts due to factors like bonuses, metrics, commissions, overtime, incentives, etc. so the “answers” are in fact questions themselves- questions of WHY the disparity exists.
When faced with disparity we either must believe that it is inherent to a system, inherent to the people involved by assumption one is naturally doing better or worse than the other, or there are other factors at play. I’m assuming one is better or worse by virtue of their belonging to a larger group then we are saying one group is inherently better or worse- and that is not only a statement requiring significant proof but one that is dangerous by nature.
Also, men are statistically far more likely to get promotions when compared to women of the same qualifications. Part of this is actually that promotions tend go be handed out by bosses to people who have worked closely with them and men (who have the boss positions far more often) regularly feel uncomfortable working closely with women. Often out of fear of sexual harassment allegations.
It's a problem with no clear and easy solution, but it is not a problem that is caused primarily by women choosing worse paying jobs.
Because as far as I'm aware, the largest discrepancies arise when you ignore the difference in working hours, types and levels of jobs, and qualifications. If I remember correctly (although unlikely to find the source now), the wage gap if accounted for in all mentioned ways is reduced to somewhere between 5-9%. And then once you find that value, you can dig in as to why.
.
Just curious if you have the value.