The actual reasons behind the gender pay gap

The gender pay gap is a major issue in the working world, and it has been reported that there are many reasons why women earn less than men. 

So, what are the actual reasons behind the gender pay gap? With new research coming out, this question is being asked more and more. The experts at Fairly Even have conducted an in-depth study to find answers for you.

More males in senior job roles than women.

It is a fact that there are more senior men compared to the women in most organizations, and senior people are paid more than their counterparts and junior workers. This impacts the gender pay gap in a negative way. However, the issue can be sorted out.

The leading cause of this problem is that senior job positions demand long hours and 24/7 availability; hence these roles cannot be fulfilled on a part-time basis. It has been aggravated in many industries by globalization and technology. Both these things have extended the working shifts to 10 or 12 hours.

Certainly, employers having a long-hours culture for senior job positions are the offenders. Long hours have inherently gendered and increased the gender pay gap.

Even the highly educated women, the ones most likely to be in senior roles, suffer from the issue. We at Fairly Even have been researching this issue for a while, and it turns out they haven't seen any decrease in their gender pay gap over time.

Caring tasks and part-time roles are not shared equally

Women often find themselves in part-time jobs due to their desire for children. Women who want careers usually end up with less hours and lower-earning potentials, which is why they make less than males.

There are many reasons that the gender pays gap increases after childbirth. For one thing, women often take time off work to care for a newborn child while men typically continue working full-time without interruption, even if they have children at home or in daycare.

Women opt to work in low-paid job roles and sectors.

As you know, women traditionally do many low-paying occupations compared to men, such as people skills and caring skills. Most women ‘decide’ to work as nurses, teachers, or shop assistants, whereas most men decide to be surgeons, construction workers, consultants, or engineers. 

The problem here is that people underrate traditional skills related to females, and that’s hard to change.

Another reason why women opt for low-paid occupations is that they need flexibility and want to get more family-friendly. In simple words, women prioritize children over the job in most cases, resulting in the gender pay gap.

Women are paid less than men for the same job role

There is significant confusion in the differences between equal pay and the gender pay gap. As mentioned above, the gender pay gap states the difference between the hourly rate for men and the hourly rate for women.

On the other hand, equal pay is nothing but discrimination. It includes paying males and females differently for the same job. Hence it is different from the gender pay gap.