The article in whole is great – read the whole thing. But this was interesting:
There’s something importantly different between a job in science and a job in business — and that matters more than you might think in explaining the wage gap
Think of your prototypical businesswoman. She has a standard 9-to-5 schedule so she can meet with other businesspeople or clients.
Maybe she’s a venture capitalist. Maybe she’s an accountant. Either way, her clients want to deal with her specifically. Her employers won’t think she’s doing a good job if she isn’t there at the hours others need her.
Now think of your prototypical scientist, lab coat and all. Most of her work is self-directed. She has experiments she needs to run — but it doesn’t really matter to her lab when, exactly, she does them. So long as she’s getting the work done, her supervisors will think she’s doing a good job.
This is, of course, a simplification. But it speaks to something important about the situations where women earn less.
Certain hours are more important than others in some jobs — and those jobs have especially high wage gaps
Goldin’s research has found that workers in the industries with large wage gaps are more likely to say their jobs value those who “develop constructive and cooperative working relationships” and that their company generally determines their “tasks, priorities, and goals.”
Workers in these industries often face steep penalties for any interruption to their career. One study estimates that among lawyers, a year out of the labor force causes an 8.4 percent salary reduction.
Now, is this fair? Yes. Yes it is. It is not the corporation’s role to determine what social norms are, or are not, more valued or valid. If you think that this woman should earn more money, then you should remove the time constrains that limit her hours and/or flexibility.