Problems at Work: The Real Reason Women Earn Less Than Men
The is real Girls’ Water Cooler stuff! Beth from Astrology Explored shares the latest research on why women continue to earn less than men. The reason may surprise you, but is a strong indicator on how assertive women are viewed in the work place.
The Real Reason Women Earn Less Than Men
You’re cruising along in your job, you think everything is fine, and then one day a bomb hits you. No, not a terrorist bomb, though it might as well be. One day you find out that the male managers at your level make more money than you. Even managers on a lower rung than you can be making the same money or more. Isn’t this illegal? Yes and no.
There is no law that prevents employers from paying different employees different rates of pay. It is illegal the pay differently for one class of workers doing essentially the same work as another. But it is one thing to know it exists, and another thing to prove it. To prove it may put you out on limb that could lead to a loss of your job and your career.
“Their study, which was coauthored by Carnegie Mellon researcher Lei Lai, found that men and women get very different responses when they initiate negotiations. Although it may well be true that women often hurt themselves by not trying to negotiate, this study found that women’s reluctance was based on an entirely reasonable and accurate view of how they were likely to be treated if they did. Both men and women were more likely to subtly penalize women who asked for more — the perception was that women who asked for more were “less nice”.
“What we found across all the studies is men were always less willing to work with a woman who had attempted to negotiate than with a woman who did not,” Bowles said. “They always preferred to work with a woman who stayed mum. But it made no difference to the men whether a guy had chosen to negotiate or not.”
The issue of “niceness” plagues the career woman. It is the real “glass ceiling” we need to break. Only until it is socially acceptable for women to play ball in the same way as men do we will have real equality in the workplace.
Read the rest of the Problems at Work series:
The Bully Boss
Picked On or Constructively Criticized? Know the Difference
What To Do When You Make a Mistake
Ways to Get Fired
Gossips, Snarks, and Whiney Babies: Your Work Place Survival Guide
working women, problems at work, work strategies, women’s salaries, workplace issues
October 10th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
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