It’s no secret that, across the board, women earn less than men.
What is being kept secretive is how this gap occurs.
It turns out that women are just as likely to request a higher rate of pay as their male counterparts, they are just not likely to be granted it.
Research published by the Cass Business School in London, the University of Warwick in the U.K., and the University of Wisconsin, found that women under 40 were just as successful at gaining raises in the workplace as men.
The same paper found that women in general were paid less than men, and not because they’re afraid to ask for a raise, but because they’re not given one when they do.
The research found that women across all age ranges were 25 per cent less likely than men to get a raise when they asked for it.
The study drew its findings using data from 4,600 workers across 840 Australian workplaces.
The findings hit back at the idea women are simply too meek to ask for more money but instead point towards a larger discrimination
Co-author and professor of economics and behavioral science at Warwick University, Andrew Oswald, told Fortune they expected to find evidence that women are less aggressive when it came to financial matters in the workplace.
“We were expecting to find evidence for this old theory that women are less pushy than men,” he said.
“But the women and the men were equal.”
Co-author and associate professor at Cass Business School, Amanda Goodall, said the success rate of younger women could only be considered good news.
“That’s got to bode well for reducing the gender pay gap,” she said.
“For me, it feels like the tide is turning.”
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Top Comments
'It’s no secret that, across the board, women earn less than men' - Uh, no, that is absolutely false!
The wage gap information certainly does not say that!
I skimmed through the study. Very basic and only focuses on a small set of the data required to make accurate decisions. For that you would need unbiased data from both employer and employee and follow up questions.
For those that attempted to negotiate a pay rise, how aggressive were their negotiations from 1-5.
Then ask the employer how aggressive the negotiations were on a scale of 1-5.
If the results match between employer and employee but there was still a difference between success and failure in negotiations then you have a case for gender bias.
Your chances of getting a pay rise depends more on market conditions, company performance and your role itself. The same factors that determine what someone will charge you as a contractor or tradie. Men and women are equally capable of doing a good job, but men and women choose different jobs.
Men do more of the critical jobs and jobs that can't be substituted. It partly explains why almost all workplace deaths happen to men (a labour inequality issue feminists don't care about).
If you want a baby sitter chances are you will get a woman and there are so many on offer the prices are low. Want a plumber, it will more likely be a man and scarcity and need ensures an hourly rate 5 to 20 times a babysitter, plus a call out fee. It's not sexism determining pay as either gender can do either job, it's an example of men tending to choose more high paying and more demanding jobs.
I read it too. It seems statistically robust to me.
So why aren't teachers paid more, then? Demanding job, dangerous job, teacher shortages in many areas and one that has been severely underpaid since women started to make up more of the teaching workforce.
Women have been denied places in risky jobs up until recently, and are still discriminated against. I have a female friend who is an electrician and the amount of men who just assume she can't do it or is not strong enough to carry something heavy is astounding. Women are often out of the workforce, due to the fact that they are seen as the primary care giver, even if they have valuable skills that would benefit the wider society.
It's also funny how all the 'demanding' jobs are male orientated. What the hell is a teacher or a nurse if not a demanding job? Why should architects (male orientated) make more than teachers? Or garbage people make more than cleaners?
There are many ways of asking for something, some of which are less successful than others. I've also found how people view their own idea's and behaviour is different to how others view it. Someone might think they negotiated quite aggressively for something, the person they were negotiating with might disagree. Without knowing both sides it's hard to make a judgement. Merely the fact of asking is not enough.