By Victoria Cornell
Wealth of Geeks
In 2022, women between the ages of 25 and 34 earned around 92% as much as men. In 2023, you would be forgiven for thinking that equality has been reached and that men and women are treated and paid fairly. Sadly, this still isn’t the case despite decades of perseverance and protesting from several generations of women. 4.1% of women quit their jobs compared to 3.4% of men; the gap increases in states with childcare accessibility issues or disruptions.
To illustrate the ever-present gender pay gap, the United States commemorates “Equal Pay Day” every year to raise awareness about how women are still paid less than men in a significant number of workplaces. This year, the day fell on March 14th. This date, the 74th day of the year, was chosen because, in the US, an average woman would have had to work an extra 74 days each year to earn the same amount as the average man.
The daunting statistics don’t end there, either. Based on the most recent data from 2022, an average woman consistently earns less than an average man throughout their career. While the gap is nominal at first, it tends to get bigger and wider with age, suggesting that promotions and salary increases dry up when parenthood enters the equation.
To raise awareness, further startling statistics were published this year on Equal Pay Day to illustrate how far society still needs to go until men and women are paid equally. Some of these statistics focused on the “motherhood penalty” — the idea that many women have to take a hit on their careers when they become mothers, which men rarely have to do when they become fathers.
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Are women punished for having children?
According to the Pew Research Center, the widest gap between men and women in annual salary comes when women enter their 30s. Coincidentally, this is also when women are most likely to have young children.
In 2022, younger female employees earned about 8% less than their male counterparts. However, women aged between 35 and 44 banked only 83% of a man’s salary in the same position. Last year, the median age for a new mom was 30 years old, meaning that by the time women turn 35, they have potentially either permanently left their careers or at least taken significant time out.
A reason why so many women who balance motherhood and work end up pausing or giving up their careers entirely when they become moms is because of the startling costs of childcare. For many, quitting their job and raising their children is more cost-effective than continuing to work and paying daycare fees.
Perhaps due to gender stereotypes, women are more prone to taking up childcare responsibilities than men. Recent statistics show that in Rhode Island and Maine, women leave the workforce at a 1.7% higher rate than men for childcare reasons. Additionally, data shows that men flourish career-wise shortly after having children. Dubbed the “fatherhood premium,” statistics suggest that men are more likely to work longer hours and receive more bonuses when they have young children.
This means that men can take advantage of the fact that mothers multitask and care for their children all day to advance in their careers. The data is particularly alarming because women outperform men in rates of college graduation and enrollment. This would suggest that more women are entering their careers with more knowledge and qualifications than men, yet are still being undervalued by employers.
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Other factors for the gender pay gap
But it isn’t just parenthood that contributes to the gender pay gap for women in their 30s and 40s, according to experts. Jessica Ramey Stender, the policy director, and deputy legal director at Equal Rights Advocates, says that women are expected to undertake more domestic labor and caregiving duties outside of parenting than men. “It is still often the woman who takes time from their job to be a caretaker or manage the household, which, in turn, can exacerbate burnout and depress her earnings,” Stender says.
Due to the burden that women take on at home, they are statistically less likely to receive promotions during these “prime earning years.” The lack of progression in their careers can then have a detrimental effect on their mental health and well-being, making them generally unhappier and less fulfilled.
One way women can fight against the gender pay gap is by using sponsors. The leader of Catalyst’s Women and the Future of Work initiative, Pasquarella Daley, said “Young women need people who can advocate for them behind closed doors and recommend them for promotions. That can make all the difference in their career development and, in turn, in their earnings.”
