RESEARCH CENTRE: Are women partly to blame for the pay gap?

This controversial study was conducted by the University of Bath in the UK. For the study, the researchers analysed data taken from people about their salary expectations, all the way from unemployment to paid employment. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The good news is that it isn’t just on women to fix this pay gap.
  • On analysing the findings, which have been published in the current edition of the Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organization, the researchers recommend that policies are put in place to address the attitude issues.

Findings of an interesting new study suggest that the pay disparity between the genders is caused by so much more than a subconscious bias against women and should thus not all be heaped on the man.

Apparently, women are partly to blame for it. A woman’s unconscious pessimism and passivity towards her earning ability stops her from pushing for better pay, so she ends up earning less than her male counterparts for the same amount of work.

This controversial study was conducted by the University of Bath in the UK. For the study, the researchers analysed data taken from people about their salary expectations, all the way from unemployment to paid employment.

They observed that women generally had lower salary expectations, while men had higher ones. Men were also found to be more dissatisfied when their pay did not met their expectations and subsequently more likely to pursue better jobs and better pay. While women take what they are offered, the men overestimate their abilities and thus ask for more, or leave to pursue avenues where they will get more.

THE FEMALE PARADOX

“If low female expectations in terms of pay is fueled by a pessimistic outlook, then even without discrimination and progression-related issues, women will continue to underestimate themselves and continue to inadvertently accept pay inequality,” said Dr Chris Dawson, one of the study authors.

The good news is that it isn’t just on women to fix this pay gap. On analysing the findings, which have been published in the current edition of the Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organization, the researchers recommend that policies are put in place to address the attitude issues. If more is not done – if we just rely on women to go after the pay rises and the top jobs – then the gender gap may never be broken.

A good place to start, according to the researchers, would be addressing the phenomenon of the contented female worker, who is happy to stay in her comfort zone. Companies can help change this phenomenon, which partly fuels the wage gap, by putting in place management strategies which help female employees realise their values and aspire to greater career heights.