When I am interviewed, I commonly get asked “Why do women earn less than men?” Jeepers. It’s a huge question, and a very charged question. Talk about stepping into the fire! And I’m always frustrated that people expected a single answer! At any rate, I took on the challenge and recorded this tiny three minute video with my response.
I talk about two reasons, though there are more. So check it out and tell me what you think. The bottom line is that I do think women don’t ask for what they want as often as men do (and the research backs me up!) though the reasons behind this are also very complex. All the same, it causes us to underearn. I also mention a whopping second reason- “our relational nature”—we are so focused on other people that sometimes this really hurts us financially. It’s a version of that “good girl” thing, where we want people to like us, hate making people uncomfortable and sometimes give too much away… Comments?? Do you agree or disagree?
I love your video about why self-employed women underearn. I think another reason, connected to the relational issue, is that women are afraid they will lose their friends if they become very financially successful. One well-known entrepreneur told me the other day that her close friends started “acting out” and doing subtle things to undermine her when her business took off. Women still compete with each other even though they value their relationships, and that kind of competition sabotages our success as a collective.
You are right. Let’s assume that women are wage takers. If the wage that they take is the average wage, then wages in women’s occupations will homogenize or become low relative to men. Women have to ask or negotiate for the same wage as men.
Say a woman is the caregiver in the family. She should get paid the same wage. But if she works less hours than a man, then she earns less. Somehow those hours spent caring about others have to be rewarded.