Gender Wage Gap? What is it? What do I do About it?

Have any of you ever heard of the gender wage gap? Do you know why this happens? Do you believe it is real? Do you know how bad this is for the economy? I'm going to give a brief (or not) bit of information about this.

Let's start with what the gender wage gap is and where it comes from:

1) Women make $.78 for every dollar men earn in the same positions

2) Women are less likely to ask for raises when they deserve them

3) Women who have far superior qualifications are often not hired in favor of a man with lesser qualifications

4) Women who exhibit the same traits (assertiveness, aggressiveness, rationality, coolness, etc. etc.) as male leaders are often called "cold", "emotionless", "a bitch" etc. where men are referred to as strong, dominant, powerful etc. If every time you tried to get something you deserved you were told that you were *insert insult here*, it would make it harder for you to ask for it

5) Men are seen as being more of an expert than women, even when the woman has more knowledge

6) Studies have shown that women actually make better leaders in a modern economy than men, however less than 4% of CEOs of major companies in the U.S. are female (the highest country in the world is Estonia at 44%, that's right we are worse than Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union)

7) Women have no mandated paid maternity leave, and in many cases their career gets slowed down by having children, but if they choose not to have kids they are shamed by our society

Why this is bad for the economy:

1) Women make up 51-52% of the population of the U.S.

2) Women are the primary spenders, approximating 55-57% of domestic spending

3) Women making 22% less than men means that we are losing approximately 13% of the spending power in our economy.

4) Our current GDP is 22 Trillion, add 13% to that and you get a GDP of nearly 25 Trillion

5) With Approximately 30% of our GDP going to taxes that is an additional 1 Trillion in revenue for the government, this is enough to cover our entire country with healthcare, or provide free public college tuition to every citizen

Here is what companies can do:

1) Create a non-negotiable wage scale based on position

2) Create specific hiring practices that encourage women to apply and encourage the hiring of women

3) Allow for significant paid child leave, divided up as the family sees fit

4) Encourage women to run for public office, get involved civically, and provide

5) When looking to promote from the inside, create face sheets that are gender neutral and have someone evaluate the skills without knowing the person's gender

6) Strive for equal representation in your workplace and in your management

I will close with a personal example that seems counter intuitive. I work in an industry where it is dominated by women. One would think this would make it more equal in treatment. I was recently recruited for the same exact job, by the same exact company as a female friend of mine. She has been doing exactly the job that they were recruiting for for almost 7 years. My responsibilities at my job include a few of the tasks that the job in question was for. She is more educated, more experienced, has a better skill set for the job, and all around is a superior candidate

The starting salary they offered her was 40K, which is well above industry standard for the position, I was offered over 50K. She refused the job offer and got a polite letter of thanks for getting back to them, I refused the job offer and they came back with a higher salary offer as well as more benefits. Neither of us were seeking the job, neither of us "tried to negotiate", neither of us did anything differently, and this company thought that they could pay her 20% less for more experience and a better background for the job. I asked around to a few people that I know that work in a similar career, and the general consensus is that initial offers to women for this same position, regardless of experience are about 20% less, and they don't negotiate with women, but do with men.

If you think this problem isn't real, take a look at the statistics, this is all part of what we refer to as the "glass ceiling". Sure on paper women are equal, they can vote the same, they can apply for the same jobs, they can go to the same schools, they have the same "rights" in the workplace. However, in reality, they are still treated differently by employers, they are still treated differently in interviews, they still make less money, are more likely to be fired, are more often hit on by their bosses, and are more likely to be the victims of discriminatory hiring practices.

Ask around, talk to your female friends in careers, look at the compensation of the last male executive of a Fortune 500 company, vs the current female executive in the same position. Watch how women are treated by the press, watch the commentary on looks, or on emotions, that are so different than what males get. There is a problem, there are differences, and that is why we need to stand up with the women around us and fight for real equality. We need to fight for equal treatment, both legally and in reality. Women are already fighting for this, and slowly but surely winning the battle, it is time for men to step up and join them and stop sitting on the sideline pretending there is no problem.

If any of you want to call me a special snowflake, you are welcome to. Snowflakes are made of water, when you apply heat they melt, when they melt they form rivers and oceans and provide life for the entire world. Water is the most irresistible force on the planet, so keep applying your heat to the snowflakes, we will melt and we will change the world.