49 Years After Kennedy Signed The Equal Pay Act, Women Still Earn 77 Cents To A Man’s Dollar

[Xithras]

75. I said I wouldn't speculate, but I think the second may have a bit to do with it.

Personally, I've never met a single manager or HR person who is happy paying men more than women. In fact, I've known several male managers who have offered raises to female employees without them asking, simply because the managers were unhappy with the accumulated pay disparity that the women were getting. While I'm sure that there are some managers who would be put off by women asking for more money, most wouldn't. This isn't the 1960's.

Remember, we're not talking about ACTING aggressively (which does put some men off), but pursuing your goals aggressively (which very few men have a problem with). Most men are actually pretty friendly when they ask for a raise ("I'd love to keep working here, but I have to look at what's best for my family...is there anything we can work out to match this offer?&quot It's not about being bossy or aggressive, but is about understanding your value to your employer and being willing to ask for what you're worth. I've wondered myself whether this is a skill we're teaching young women, but as a man, I'm not really in a position to "educate" female employees without coming off as patronizing. You can bet that I've taught my own daughter to understand her value and to be willing to stand up for herself. I've overseen men and women working side by side at the same job, where the man was making $25k a year more than the woman, and I don't ever want my daughter to be that woman.

I do think that risk taking behaviors may play a role too. Walking into your bosses office and demanding a raise is an inherently risky behavior. Best case scenario is that you get a raise. Worst case scenario is that you get fired. Even if you don't get fired, your boss now knows that you're unhappy and looking elsewhere for work, which could have serious negative consequences for your continued employment. Even demanding too much pay at the time you're hired can be risky...if the company offers $100k a year, you demand $130k, and you negotiate it to $110k and an extra two weeks of vacation, your new boss will be acutely aware that he's paying you $20k a year less than you really wanted. Again, there's a risk that your boss may not trust you fully, fearing that you'll bolt when a better paying offer comes along.

Studies support the idea that men tend to be more willing to take risks when it comes to finances, which includes gambling with their jobs for more money. The question is whether we should be teaching young women to take more risks, or young men to take less.