Equal Pay?  Is Flexibility an Answer?  

"By the time the average woman is 60 years old, she will have made $450,000 less than a man in the same exact position."  For a black woman, it would be $440,023 less and for a Latina, $459,977 less.  "That's like a fancy-ass house!" exclaims Laci Green in "Why I'm a...Feminist" YouTube video.

Is equal pay for equal work really a problem?  "Well, no," respond Republicans.  "Paychecks vary because of the occupations women hold.  If a woman is a teacher, it won't bring in the same paycheck as an engineer might bring.  So the problem is in the kind of occupations women choose compared to the occupations men choose."  (Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?  Do women get paid less because the job pays less, or do women get paid less because it is traditionally women doing the job?)

Claire Cain Miller, in her April 23,2014, article entitled "Pay Gap is Because of Gender, Not Jobs" finds that the disparity in pay doesn't happen as much between occupations as it happens within the same type of occupation.  In reality, if pay disparity were greatest between types of jobs, women would "erase just 15 percent of the pay gap for all workers and between 30 and 35 percent for college graduates".  One must look within particular occupations to see what's truly happening with pay disparity.

Fact #1 -- The pay gap "widens in the highest paying occupations, like business, law and medicine".  For example, female podiatrists are paid just 66 percent of what male podiatrists earn while female economists earn 82 percent of what their male counterparts earn.

Some occupations, however, have been able to narrow the gap.  Female computer software engineers make 88 percent compared to men while female pharmacists earn 91 percent of what men earn.  And in some occupations like dental hygienists, H. R. specialists, and advertising sales people, the gap has disappeared altogether.

So what is happening within, rather than between, occupations that allows for more equitable pay?

Fact #2 -- The key to equalizing pay is "workplace flexibility in terms of hours and location".  For example, some occupations value long hours, face-time at the office, and being on call.  So if one works longer hours, puts in more face-time, or is on call, they are disproportionately rewarded with higher pay.  An example might be the difference between a corporate attorney who works 80 hours a week and another who works 40 hours as in-house counsel to a small business.  The corporate attorney gets paid more than double of what the in-house counsel is paid because of the value placed on those long hours, face-time, and being on call.  (These are aspects of the job that, more likely than not, women with families would be less willing to do.)

On the other hand, "jobs in which employees can easily substitute for one another have the slimmest pay gaps, and those workers are paid in proportion to the hours they work".  An example might be what has happened in the field of obstetrics in some locations.  Rather than the obstetrician remaining on call around the clock for a birth, a doctor already working the 8-hour shift will take the case.

Another example is pharmacies.  Because of changes in labor (more corporate ownership) and changes in technology (computerized data), pharmacists can easily substitute for one another.  Payment is made for hours worked:  those who work 80 hours get double the pay of those who work 40 hours.  As a result, there is less of a pay gap between women and men (91 percent).

In most occupations, if the flexibility exists that allows for work to be done remotely or working at odd hours (presuming this is the flexibility women are looking for), the less likely there would be for gaps in pay between women and men, both of whom are doing the same work.  (Source:  "Pay Gap is because of gender not jobs", Claire Cain Miller, April 23, 2014)

Edith's question:  Marissa Mayer has now been Yahoo's CEO for two years.  Improvements at Yahoo have been noted both in salaries and attrition rates.  However, Mayer has been criticized for not letting staff work from home, taking away that flexibility of work location.  It would be interesting to know what, if any, movement there may be now toward pay disparity.  It is also noted that Yahoo, despite its improvements, has not made Glassdoor's separate list of "50 best places to work".  (Source:  "Yahoo says Marissa Mayer has fixed its biggest problem", John Duling, @jmcduling, March 5, 2014)