The term "pay gap" means different things to different people. Most importantly, what it does not mean is that women earn less than men, all things being equal.
Let's say this again, the gender pay gap does not mean women are not getting equal pay for equal work.
Let's start with the headline number using perhaps the most comprehensive pay study available. The PayScale 2024 Gender Pay Gap Report (GPGR).
https://www.payscale.com/research-and-insights/gender-pay-gap/
"A common way to look at the gender pay gap is as a percentage of how much women make compared to what men make, or as a fraction of a dollar. In 2024, for every $1 that men make, women earn $0.83. This is what women make compared to men regardless of occupation, experience, education, or other compensable factors — i.e., when data are uncontrolled. "
Read the fine print... let me repeat it for those who missed it. "This is what women make compared to men regardless of occupation, experience, education, or other compensable factors — i.e., when data are uncontrolled. "
Now let's look at the reality. I mean why bother to go to college, get more experience, and all the other compensable factors, if you are going to make the same amount of money as a barista as you would as a nuclear scientist? Does a woman who attends law school, think the man, who drives a local delivery truck should earn the same as she does? Doubt it.
So, what happens when you adjust for all the non-gender factors that impact education. How are women doing? This is or would be the "real" gender pay gap.
“However, Payscale is able to control for a wide variety of compensable factors, which might better illuminate why women are paid less. When data are controlled, women make $0.99 for every $1 that men make.” While the number should be $1 not .99, keep in mind Asian women earn more than men, so if gender bias is at work, how would you explain that. In other words, the one penny difference is likely explained by compensable factors not captured in the data base.
Why is this important to me? Because young girls need to grow up understanding what different careers pay, rather than think they are being discriminated against. It doesn't help anyone to preach a false narrative of gender pay discrimination, when the truth lies in the decisions each person makes regarding their careers.
I do think our education system does a terrible job teaching children the reality of the workplace. Over a lifetime, I have noticed that women more than men make "balanced" choices, that lead to lower compensation. Simple example, two doctors... one male and one female operating within the same compensation system based on productivity. In general, the men earned more than the women because they focused on income maximization and the women worked towards a targeted income and then chose to spend time with their families.
Very stereotypical, but not universal. The highest paid, OB/GYN in the physician group was a woman. She worked harder than anyone and she made the most. I did not envy her making more... she had no life away from work, because she was almost never away from work.
When I was recruiting doctors to the practice, men often asked how much they could make, women often asked about quality-of-life issues. As an employer, you try where possible to meet both the needs of those who want to maximize income and those who want more balanced lives. The goal is not to pay the same, but to pay the same "rate" for the same work.
An employer should not force people to work the same hours, just ensure everyone has the same opportunity. The PayScale study reflects our society is doing that. Let's not make women feel guilty or victimized because they make different choices.
Feminism is not about making the same as men but having the same choices as men and those choices producing the same income. I am proud of my wife's success and my four daughters' success. I do think my wife works to hard and one of my daughters does also. But that is their choice. I just hope when they get old... like me, they like the trade-offs they made. In hindsight, making less and spending more time with my family would have been smarter when I was younger... but I am trying to make up for that these days.
