Christopher V. Flett

The reason why women get paid less then their male counterparts is because the accept less pay. I spent the better part of six year working with women in the not-for-profit markets as well as those in traditional business models. Time and time again, I would see that they made anywhere from 10%- 30% less than their male counterparts. They would be paid less and do at least 1.5 – 2x more work then those same male counterparts. This always confused me and after inquiring, I asked both women and men why women made less. Here were their responses:

Women:

• They didn’t have the same experience (of 43 women polled, 39 had more experience than a male colleagues they worked with).
• They needed to prove themselves (noted by women with at least 5 years experience).
• They didn’t have a degree (nor did their male counterparts).
• The board/boss would never go for it (they didn’t know for sure as none had asked for a raise).
• They believed the organization would give a raise if there was more money (again, they never asked for a raise during reviews).
• Their organization could find someone who would work for that wage (likely another woman).
• It wasn’t all about the money for them (most struggled to make ends meet).
• Men were considered the breadwinners so they made more (majority of women I asked with single mothers).
• They were worried that if they got paid more, there would be less money for programming (putting others before themselves).
• They felt they were paid fairly (but not at the same level of a male colleague doing less).

Men:

• Women got paid less because they likely had a boyfriend/husband covering the major living costs (of 43 women, 31 weren’t in a relationship).
• Women need to spend more time with family and can’t focus on the job as much (on average, the women worked 47 hours a week to the men’s 39 hours a week).
• Women didn’t have as much experience (as above, 39 had more experience than their counterparts).
• Women don’t understand how to show their value (men brag about what they bring to the table; women wait to be noticed).
• Women don’t ask for what they want (they ask for what they think they can get).
• Women don’t want to make their bosses/boards uncomfortable by asking for more money.
• Women don’t want to be rejected so they don’t ask in case the boss says ‘no’.
• Women won’t quit if they don’t get what they want (of the 28 men asked, every one of them said they would quit and find something else if they weren’t paid enough).

With capable workforces dwindling, now is the time for the female workforce to get clear on what fair pay is for their position. The gender gap in pay will continue as long as women choose to work for less. If women start selecting employers who pay for the contribution, rather than by gender, they will start to bridge the gap of their male counterparts. Why would an employer pay more if he or she doesn’t have to?

A negotiations coach in Vancouver shared a story of working for a government agency. This agency was in place to ensure that men and women were paid fairly. She, another woman and a man were all hired at the same time. Over a period of time, it came out that the man was making the top of the pay scale whereas the women were at the bottom of the pay-scale. The employer had stated to all three that the starting wage for the job was “X”. The two women gratefully accepted their positions while the man said that “he couldn’t possibly work for that wage.” He had a family to support after all. The employer started him at the top of the scale ( a difference, if I remember correctly, of about $10,000 a year).

Why did the women accept less? Because they felt they had to prove themselves, where the man was focused on the bottom line and would have happily declined the job to find something that paid better. Consider what you are being paid and if it is what you should be making, or what you are willing to make. If you are making $40,000 a year and your male colleague is making $50,000 a year, ask yourself if you are 20% less valuable then him. If you aren’t then ask for more; if you are less valuable, increase your professional value so that you can ask for more. Anyone who says money doesn’t matter, likely doesn’t have any.

Earn what you are worth and bridge the gap for you and every other woman in business. When you stop settling for second best, you’ll start getting paid what you deserve, but it is up for you to ask.