Why Men Make More Money Than Women
30 Jul 2007 / PE
Another study quizzed graduating master’s degree students who had received job offers about whether they had simply accepted the offered starting salary or had tried to negotiate for more. Four times as many men — 51 percent of the men vs. 12.5 percent of the women — said they had pushed for a better deal. Not surprisingly, those who negotiated tended to be rewarded — they got 7.4 percent more, on average — compared with those who did not negotiate.
A Carnegie Mellon professor has figured out why men make more than women for the same job.
I actually figured that out myself the first time I heard about it. Salaries are negotiable. You can’t pay someone less than they’re willing to work for. Hence, women must be willing to work for less money. It’s the only possible explanation.
Women, Want to Make More Money? Duh….It Might Easier Than You Think.
Posted in July 31st, 2007
by Paul Epps, on his blog.
3 users commented in " Women, Want to Make More Money? Duh….It Might Easier Than You Think. "
Hi GL –
Thanks for posting this. As I reread it, I see that I should have emphasized that 7.4 percent is just the difference in *starting* salaries. If we make the reasonable assumption that men continue to be more aggressive in seeking raises and promotions throughout their careers, the monetary difference potentially becomes very large indeed.
Do you think is purely a gender issue or an experience, personality issue?
I have read a number of reasons for why women make less money than men. Some say it’s because women choose lower-paying jobs in the first place (like librarian instead of fisherman). Some say that women simply can’t, or won’t, do many of the dirty dangerous jobs that men do and that often pay more (oil rigger). Some say that women accept lower salaries at the beginnings of their careers, and this puts them behind for the rest of their lives. Some say that the “break” we take when having children is the problem. Some say that women are flat-out bad negotiators.
It’s probably a combination of all those, and more.
Glad to be able to access your site again. I couldn’t log on for a number of weeks. I don’t know what the problem was. . . . .
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