The Modern College Woman: Mind the Gap – The Inequality in Pay Between Men and Women

Sophomore Sam Levin has had an inside glimpse at the inspiration and perspiration of entrepreneurship. When she was young her father started the juice company Fresh Samantha, which would later merge with Odwalla.

Sam writes, “The idea of creating something new that could greatly contribute to or even change our society, excites me, and I hope to one day create my own brand that does just that!”

In my last article I introduced the issue of pay inequality between men and women — and today we will break it down further and look at all the individual factors that contribute to this wage gap. After all, like a delicious juice or smoothie, there are multiple ingredients to every social issue.

A recent article on Slate Magazine’s blog The Double XX factor titled “Accounting for the Wage Gap” discussed findings by Francine Blau, Marianne Ferber, and Anne Winkler, authors of The Economics of Women, Men, and Work.

The author of the Slate article, Liza Mundy, first addressed voices that question whether a wage- gap between genders in America is genuinely the product of sexism.

Women have historically chosen fields—such as teaching—that pay less than predominantly male sectors. Most studies of pay inequality take this into account. In fact, some might argue that women enter these fields as a sort of self- fulfilling prophesy, doing what society expects from them (and has consequently made easier for them.)

For many years women were essentially conditioned to take on these lesser paying jobs because the women they looked up to were in these jobs, but now that there are strong female role models in all fields, hopefully the number (and power) of women in sectors such as business will continue to increase.

Another factor that contributes to pay inequality is motherhood and the effect that having a child has on a woman’s career. Says Sam, “I sometimes overlook this challenge since I am young, I know that someday I will have to face it. I always admire women who are able to raise their family as well as be successful in the workforce, and I know that, with hard work and perseverance, both are possible.”

Gill Hannon, also a sophomore and member of “Bowdoin Women in Business,”  elaborated on what experts call “The Mommy Track.”

“For many women, complicating the work or stay home decision is the fear that actually executing their right– the available job flexibility policies– will somehow tarnish their rapport with the company or with their direct boss, and the concern that when they re-enter the workplace after spending time at home, they may not be at the same position or wage-level as when they left.”
 

Which brings us to our third ingredient: bargaining power. “…women are sometimes less inclined to ask for a raise and are reluctant to complain when something goes wrong unlike their male counterparts. I hope this issue will change over time as more women enter the workforce,” writes Sam.

Mundy explains, “It’s not always a matter of our being unwilling to speak up for ourselves or not knowing how to do it. If you are going to bargain, you have to have, as the economists say, a credible threat. “ She gives an example of how this credible threat could be undermined,  in the situation of a woman whose husband is not willing to move for her to find new work. She cannot use the threat of moving to a new company—it’s not backed.

The authors that examined these factors in The Economics of Women, Men, and Work still left 40% of the wage gap unaccounted for. If you will, almost half of our nutrition facts are unknown.

Writes Mundy, “Even taking into account these contributing factors, the authors conclude that labor market discrimination may well explain some 40 percent of the gender wage gap. ” We conclude,” the authors write, ‘that discrimination does indeed exist.’”

Now that is one smoothie that I have a tough time swallowing.