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Same Job, Different Salary     

A deep dive into the myths and realities of pay disparity between genders

In the larger business world, women earn 80 cents for every $1 men earn. The frum sector is likely the same (or worse).
A deep dive into the myths and realities of pay disparity between genders, plus how we can address the issue

Men are paid more than women for the same work. Raise your hand if you think that statement is true. It’s an interesting phenomenon — ask most women, and they’ll say yes. Ask men, and they’ll wiffle-waffle and ultimately say no.

When I posted this question as a poll, a stunning 84 percent of my respondents were confident that it was true — and ten percent more said, “It’s complicated.” (So yes, those of you who can add already know that only six percent thought it was false.)

There’s a lot of research on pay disparity between genders, most of which applies to the frum sector as well. Looking at the larger business world, Pew research indicates that women currently make 80 cents to every dollar that men make. There are well-researched and established reasons to explain 13 cents of the discrepancy (which we’ll discuss soon). What about the remaining seven cents? The literature isn’t clear: It might be a result of discrimination, but maybe not. Researchers simply state that it can’t be accounted for.

The frum business world operates differently from the larger business ecosystem. It has its own set of values, its own unspoken rules and culture. While hard numbers are hard to come by (see sidebar for the stats we did find), let’s assume there’s at least the same 20-cent gap between men’s and women’s pay. How can this difference be understood?

Tell us the truth: Why do women make less money than men?

Reams of research have been devoted to the topic of gender pay gaps in the secular world, but it’s generally understood that there are six main reasons behind wage disparity:

  1. Occupational Segregation – Women tend to pick jobs that are in lower-paying fields (like teaching and nursing) while men tend to favor higher-paying jobs (like hedge fund managers and high tech).
  2. Workplace Discrimination – Men get hired and promoted faster, not because they’re better, just because there’s a historical precedent for it. It is not as common as it used to be, but it still exists, particularly in gender-stereotypical jobs like construction and manufacturing.
  3. Motherhood Penalty vs. Fatherhood Premium – Men have kids and get raises. Women have kids and get side-eyed like they suddenly forgot how to do their jobs.
  4. Negotiation & Self-Advocacy – Men ask for more because they assume they deserve it. Women ask for less because they’re afraid (consciously or not) of being labeled as aggressive.
  5. Unpaid Labor & Career Interruptions – Research shows clearly that women still do most of the housework and childcare, so they take more breaks, go part-time, or choose flexible jobs (which coincidentally pay less).
  6. Lack of Leadership Representation – CEOs promote people who look like them. Since most CEOs are men, guess who keeps getting picked?

Excerpted from Mishpacha Magazine. To view full version, SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE or LOG IN.

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