3 reasons women earn less

I was reading the Seattle Times yesterday, and there was the latest depressing article on the pay gap: Gender Pay Gap Emerges Early, Study Finds. Basically:

One year out of college, women working full time earn 80 percent of what men earn, according to the study by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, based in Washington, D.C. Ten years later, women earn 69 percent as much as men earn.

Ouch! What is concerning is that if these people are only one year out from college, parenthood hasn’t exacted the heavy toll that it takes on women’s careers yet. The article goes on to say that “These unexplained gaps are evidence of discrimination, which remains a serious problem for women in the work force,” I’m not sure I agree with this, however. Yes, there is discrimination in the workforce. No doubt. (Discrimination is one stated reason that salaried women leave to start their own companies.) But even this study talks about three different factors that cause this gap: women chose to go into lower paying fields from the beginning, such as teaching instead of science, and women are not tough negotiators for themselves. (Does teaching need to be paid more and valued more? Yes, it does. But the fact remains—women know the fields they chose do not always pay well.)

Women have control over these two factors—career choice and negotiation. While the answers are still difficult, this does not boil down to simple discrimination. Where it gets even more complicated, however, is the third factor: employers need to do more to accommodate the needs of mothers with young children. The world has changed, and corporations need to change also. Gone are the days of one working parent and one stay-at-home parent. If companies want to attract and keep female talent, they need to cater to working mothers. Inflexible corporate standards is one large reason why so many women leave traditional work and become self-employed. Did any of you become self-employed to escape pay discrimination and/or to have a more flexible schedule for your family?

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