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The Impact of Equal Pay on Poverty and the Economy

Hei-ock Kim

Jessica Milli, Ph.D., Yixuan Huang, Heidi Hartmann Ph.D., and Jeff Hayes, Ph.D.
This briefing paper summarizes analyses of the 2014-2016 Current Population Survey Annual
Social and Economic supplement and uses statistical controls for labor supply, human capital,
and labor market characteristics to estimate: 1) how much women’s earnings and family incomes
would rise if working women were paid the same as comparable men (men who work the same
number of hours, are the same age, have the same educational attainment and urban/rural status
and live in the same region of the country); 2) how much women and their families lose because
women earn less than similarly qualified men; 3) how many children would benefit from the
increased earnings of their mothers; 4) how many children and families would be brought out of
poverty if women received equal pay; and 5) how much the economy as a whole suffers from
inequality in pay between women and men.

Drawing of a Man in Pain

The daddy dilemma: Why men face a ‘flexibility stigma’ at work

Hei-ock Kim

The Washington Post February 11, 2013 By Joan C. Williams When children were asked in a 1999 study whether they spend enough time with their parents, they had something interesting to say. They have quite enough time with their mothers, thank you. What they wanted was more time with their fathers. Not too much has changed in the past decade. …

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The Pipeline Problem: How College Majors Contribute to the Gender Wage Gap

Hei-ock Kim

By Andrew Chamberlain, Ph.D.
Chief Economist, Glassdoor
and
Jyotsna Jayaraman
Senior Data Analyst, Glassdoor

During college, men and women gravitate toward different majors, often due to
societal pressures. This puts men and women on different career tracks — with
different pay — after college. How does this contribute to America’s gender pay gap?
• Using a unique dataset of more than 46,900 resumes shared on Glassdoor, we
illustrate how men and women sorting into different college majors translates into
gender gaps in careers and pay later.
• Many college majors that lead to high-paying roles in tech and engineering are
male dominated, while majors that lead to lower-paying roles in social sciences
and liberal arts tend to be female-dominated, placing men in higher-paying
career pathways, on average.
• The most male-dominated majors are Mechanical Engineering
(89 percent male), Civil Engineering (83 percent male), Physics
(81 percent male), Computer Science and Engineering (74 percent male),
and Electrical Engineering (74 percent male).
• The most female-dominated majors are Social Work (85 percent female),
Healthcare Administration (84 percent female), Anthropology
(80 percent female), Nursing (80 percent female), and Human Resources
(80 percent female).
• Nine of the 10 highest paying majors we examined are male-dominated. By
contrast, 6 of the 10 lowest-paying majors are female-dominated.
• Even within the same major men and women often end up on differe nt career
tracks, resulting in a pay gap that could follow them for a lifetime. In our sample,
across the 50 most common majors, men and women face an 11.5 percent pay gap
on average in the first five years of their careers.
• Majors leading to the largest pay gaps favoring men include Healthcare
Administration (22 percent pay gap), Mathematics (18 percent pay gap)
and Biology (13 percent pay gap).
• Majors leading to the largest pay gaps favoring women — a reverse pay
gap — include Architecture (-14 percent pay gap), Music (-10.1 percent
pay gap) and Social Work (-8.4 percent pay gap).
• Choice of college major can have a dramatic impact on jobs and pay later on. Our
results suggest that gender imbalances among college majors are an important and
often overlooked driver of the gender pay gap.

12 things employers can do to improve gender equality at their workplace

Hei-ock Kim

Quartz June 22, 2016 By Oliver Staley Not all workplaces provide equal opportunities for men and women, but all should try. In a presentation yesterday at the Society of Human Resource Managers’ (SHRM) annual conference, Jonathan Segal, a labor attorney, laid out 12 practical steps employers can take to level the workplace for men and women. These tips are taken …

Five Ways to Win an Argument about the Gender Wage Gap (Updated 2017)

Hei-ock Kim

1. Other data series on weekly or hourly earnings are not necessarily more accurate than the annual figure.
2. The annual wage ratio of 80.5 percent is actually a moderate estimate of gender pay inequality. Women of color fare much worse. Part-time
3. Women’s ‘choices’ are not necessarily choices.
4. There is no proof that being a mother makes a woman less productive on the job.
5. Discrimination is still a factor—a big one—in the gender wage gap.

Debunking myths Discrimination against women Pay parity Wage gap Workplace Tools Women’s issues

San Diego approves equal pay law to address persistent gender gap

Hei-ock Kim

San Diego Union-Tribune July 31, 2017 By David Garrick San Diego on Monday became the largest city in the nation to pass a law requiring city contractors and consultants to pay employees equally regardless of gender or ethnicity. The City Council unanimously approved the new legislation, an “equal pay” ordinance that aims to help close persistent pay gaps for women …

Glassdoor: Know Your Worth

Hei-ock Kim

Are you paid fairly? Get a free, personalized salary estimate based on today’s job market.