"She will go on maternity leave": Why women are paid less and how to fix it
Opinion still prevails in societythat we live in the world of victorious equality. We have already told why this is not the case and what problems still have to be dealt with, and now we have decided to dwell on one of them - pay inequality between men and women. We understand why it still exists and what needs to be done to get rid of it.
Are women paid less than men?
What is the gender pay gap is clear to everyone: so far, all over the world, women get less for the work they do on a par with men. In some countries, there is an Equal Pay Day: this date symbolizes how many days in the new year women have to work extra to get as much as men earned last year - in the United States this year, for example, it fell on the fourth of April.
The situation is disappointing: according to the World Economic Forum, it will take another 170 years to eradicate inequality in the world at the current pace of development (the year before WEF spoke of 118 years). Russia in the global ranking of gender inequality ranks 75th out of 144. Men in the country on average receive 10.6 thousand rubles more than women, and among managers, the difference is even greater, it reaches 21 thousand rubles.
Why doesn't everyone believe that this is true?
Nevertheless, many still consider gender inequality in pay as a myth: this point of view can also be found in blogs and in well-known media, from Time to Forbes. Speaking of inequality in pay, they often use well-known statistics from the US Census Bureau: for every dollar a man earns, a woman earns only 79 cents. These are accurate data, but statistics take into account information about "average" men and women - opponents of the theory of unequal pay say that it does not take into account many other factors that affect income (education, length of service, number of hours worked) and therefore cannot consider it accurate.
Speaking about the difference in pay, you really need to take into account various factors - but this does not mean that it does not exist in principle; inequality is much more complicated. First of all, it is important to pay attention to the profession, as the wage gap will also be different in different areas. The Wall Street Journal released an impressive infographic on how salaries differ in different areas in the US: women earn more than men in seven areas; in other areas the gap can reach several tens of percent. It is necessary to take into account other factors: age, level of education, ethnicity. For example, according to the United States Census Bureau, Hispanic women receive 91 cents for every dollar that Hispanic men earn. But if you compare the incomes of Latin American women with the incomes of white Americans, the difference will be much more serious: Latinos earn only 54 cents for every dollar that white Americans receive.
All this does not mean that inequality does not exist - it only means that some women are more vulnerable to him than others. Attention to a common figure is often paid simply because the data for some categories may be too small - it is difficult, for example, to gather extensive information about Latinos working as marketers in Boston. Both age, ethnicity, and the profession must be taken into account in order to better understand the situation and more effectively deal with it. At the same time, the difference in wages does not disappear, even when we take into account the most different factors that influence it: even in the most standardized version of statistics, when the same positions are compared, women in the United States receive only 94.6% of what men get - This difference cannot be explained by the fact that women "just choose the wrong professions" or do not have sufficient education and experience.
Why does inequality still exist?
Often, the economic inequality of women and men is attempted to be explained by the fact that women are “inclined” to choose less-paid jobs - the professions of teachers and nurses, for example, are considered traditionally “female”. But the choice of a profession is influenced by many factors: sociologists Elena Zdravomyslova and Anna Temkina talk about the "moral economy" - informal norms that force women to make one choice or another. For example, traditionally it is believed that a woman should pay more attention to the family - for the sake of this, she can work part-time or choose a job that is easier to combine with raising children, which is also reflected in her income. Long maternity leave, the inability to send a child to kindergarten are pushing women to choose a more “comfortable” profession.
In the twenty-first century, men are still considered "the breadwinners," and women as the "keepers of the hearth." In English, there are the concepts of "motherhood penalty" (motherhood penalty) and "fatherhood bonus" (fatherhood bonus). Many employers consider fathers to be more stable and reliable employees than mothers. Michel Badig, a sociology professor at the University of Massachusetts, concluded that with the advent of the child, the income of a man increases by an average of 6%, and that of a woman decreases by 4%. Badig also took into account factors influencing the result of the study: for example, some fathers actually start working more with the appearance of a child, but this explains only 16% of their additional income. Mothers can choose part-time work or lower-paid work to combine it with raising a child, but this explains only a quarter to a third of the decrease in their income. The main reason for this is discrimination: employers often believe that a male worker will work more for the good of the family, and a woman, on the contrary, will be distracted from work.
Of course, gender inequality is not only related to motherhood. Many professions are still closed to women. Moreover, in the areas traditionally considered "male", the level of wages is often higher than in the traditionally "female" requiring the same level of skills. Finally, gender stereotypes influence the situation: it can be more difficult for women to ask for a wage increase and they often encounter an “impostor syndrome”. Traits that are encouraged in men - perseverance, dedication, perseverance - can cause irritation to the employer if they are shown by a woman.
How can I fix the situation?
Fighting inequality can and should be done at different levels. First of all, this concerns employers: in Russia, as in other countries, the Labor Code prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex - but in practice, women can still face it, albeit in a hidden form. There are other measures: for example, in the UK in 2018, companies will have to start publishing data on average wages and awards for men and women, and the government will compile a rating of firms based on this information. It is believed that transparency should help companies assess their actions, and employees should not be afraid to ask for a raise. Other measures, such as flexible scheduling, help to solve the problem - it is easier for employees and staff with children to combine work with household chores.
Inequality can be fought at the legislative level: for example, California recently introduced a law that not only obliges employers to pay the same salary for men and women working in close (but not necessarily completely the same) positions, but also prohibits employers to punish employees who discuss their salary.
Finally, we need to help women themselves and fight stereotypes. Many women at interviews call the employer the amount of wages, similar to the one that they paid earlier - obviously lower. The most frequent advice for women in this situation is not to be afraid to ask for more, but the employer himself can go to meet them and offer a sum corresponding to her skills.
The main thing is to understand that unequal wages really exist - and it should be eliminated right now, and not wait another 170 years.
Photo: Sashkin - stock.adobe.com, Kuzmick - stock.adobe.com
