ALotofFactorsGointoMale,FemalePayDisparity

You'rethefirstwomanI'veseenatoneofthesethingsthatdresseslikeawoman,notlikea
womanthinksamanwoulddressifhewasawoman.JackTrainer,WorkingGirl,20
th

CenturyFox,1988

Afewmonthsback,enoughU.S.Senatorspooledtheirvotesanddefeatedtheequalpaybillsaying,
Thedisparityexistsbecauseafemalesocialworkermakeslessthanamaleengineer.

O.K.,maybeyoushouldntexpectmuchheavyliftingthinkingfrompeoplewhowanttoguideyour
government,butreally?

Still,lawscanteliminatediscrimination.

However,asNeildeGrasseTysonhaspointedoutintherecentsciencedocumentaryseriesCosmos,
humankindisstillintheearlylearningstages.

Sincefemalesrepresentroughly50percentoftheworldspopulation,logicsaysthatsomewanttodo
morethanjustsocialwork...andexpecttoearnmore.Thatshouldespeciallybetrueinthetechnology
industry.

Industryexecutivesarequicktosayqualifiedfemaletechnologistsengineers,programmers,
developersareinveryshortsupply.

Theysaythefaultlieswithschools,parentsorsocietyingeneralthatdontencouragegirlstopursue
technicalfields.

Thetruthisthattechnologyisasexist,alphamaleculture.

Whenaguydisagreedwiththatassessment,Tesssaidinresponse,Youwantanotheranswer,ask
anothergirl.

ShesaComputer
ButaccordingtoRuthOldenziel,aprofessoratEindhovenUniversityofTechnology,thathasntalways
beenthecase:
AdaLovelace,amathematicianinthe1800sisoftenreferredtoastheworldsfirst
computerprogrammer
RearadmiralGraceHopperdevelopedthefirstcompiler
Sixwomenprogrammedthe30tonEniaccomputeroneofthemostfamous
systemsinhistoryfortheArmy
Sincetheindustryestimatestherewillbemorethan1.2millionnewcomputingjobsavailableintheU.S.
(manymoreinothercountries)anduniversitiesareonlyproducing39percentofthegraduatesneeded,
maybeitstimeforfemalestotakebacktheindustrylead.
Eveniftheygettothatstage,thereisstilltheissueofequalityofrespectfortheirintelligence,
expertise,opinions,professionalismandpay.

WhyisItSpiderman,CaptainAmerica,Batmanandothermalesuperheroesaregreat
formulasforboxofficehitsbutfemaleheroesarefewandfarbetween.MeganGale,Scarlett
JohanssonandHalleBerryarejustafewthatcanstandtoetotoewithanyman.
Letsoverlookthepayequitythingforamomentandfocusonthefactthatwomenarefinally
makinggainsinseniormanagementpositionswithoutbeingsuperheroes.
AForbesInsightsreportfoundthatglobally,24percentofseniorleadershippositionswereheldby
women.
AsTesssaidexcitedlyonthephone,Cyn!GuesswhereIam...
TheGrantThorntonsreportshowedthatthetopfivefemalepositionswereCFO(31%),HR(30%)
controller(14%),CMO(13%)andsalesdirector(13%).

OfficeFemalesThepathtomanagementpositionsforfemaleshasbecomeeasierinrecent
yearsbecausetheyareassertingthemselvesmoreandorganizationsarerealizingtheyare
wastingvaluabletalentbynotpreparingthemandopeningopportunitiesforqualifiedwomen
executives.
Interestingly,Chinaledthewayfortheworldwith52percentandalloftheAP(AsiaPacific)
regionhad29percentofwomeninseniorpositionscomparedto25percentintheEU,23
percentinLatinAmericaandNorthAmerica21percent.
Whytheincrease?
EmergingMarkets
AstheBoardSecretaryoftheChinaFinancialFuturesExchangenotedtheirtalent,intelligence
aremorerespectedathigherlevelpositions.
PerhapsChinesearemoreenlightenedbecausetheyseetheimportance/benefitofdiversity
diversityofthought.
AglobalstudybyZengerFolkmanfoundnottoosurprisingthatmendominatedthehigher
leadershippositions(78percent)andtheytendedtohavecompatibletopmanagers2
nd
tier
(67percent),3
rd
tier(60percent).
Overcomingthealphamalecultureisnteasy!
Butitisbeingdone.
WomenareassertingthemselvesandagreeingwithTess,IknowwhatI'mdoing.

EffectivenessResultsItdoesnttakearocketscientisttolookatthekeyleadershiptraitsthat
areimportanttomakecompaniesandindustriesgrowandrealizethatwomenhaveadecided
edgeinalmosteverycategory.Maybealphamaleshaveitallwrong.
Still,stereotypequalitiessurroundingfemaleleadersnurturing(developingothers,building
relationships)seemlikeagoodthingatleasttome.
Inaddition,ZengerFolkmanfoundtheyweremoreeffectiveleadersatalmosteverylevel.
HardCoreTalents
Andwerenottalkingsoftareasbutratherthegeneralcompetenciespeoplecommonlyaccept
asoutstandingleadershipcapabilitiestakinginitiative,drivingresults,selfdevelopment,high
integrity/honesty,championsofchange,communications,innovation,technical/professional
expertise.
FacebooksSherylSandbergispartiallyrightinherbookLeanInthatwomenhavetoquit
secondguessingthemselvesandbemoreselfconfidentbutitgoesbeyondthat.
Thesamequalitiesthatmakethemidealforleadershippositionsalsohelpthemdefinetheir
personalsuccessdifferently.
ClaudiaGoldin,aHarvardlaboreconomist,notedthatfemalesdontcrave/thriveontheadrenalin
rushofpower,fearoffailure,mindgamesorpersonalagendas.
Instead,theypreferrecognitionfortheirwork/achievements/contributionsandthechanceto
makeachange/makeadifference.
Thatsprobablyokaybutwithallofthosereallydesirableleadershiptraits,thereisstilla
gender/paygapevenformen/womeninthesamefield.

GenderPayImbalanceDespitetheireducationandexperience,manywomencontinuetoearn
lessthantheirmalecounterpartsbutatleastitismoreequitableinthetechnologyfields.
Womeninthetechnicalfieldsfarebetterthanmanysoftwareengineers(12percentlower),
hardwareengineers(16percentlower).
LongHours
However,Dr.Goldinsaidthepaywillprobablyneverbecompletelyequalbecausethereis
anotherunstatedconsiderationpeoplearerewardedmoreforlongerhoursintheoffice,being
oncall.
Sothosefemaleswhoarecareerfocusedprobably/possiblyearnthesameormorethantheir
malecounterpart.Whichmeansthosewhojugglecareerandfamilyshouldprobablygetpaidby
theirpartnerfortheirsecondjobcooking,cleaning,washing,handlingthekids,payingbills,etc.
CrudImmoreindebt!

Ofcourse,todaymanyfemalesarethinkinglikeTess,I'mnotgonnaspendtherestofmylife
workingmyassoffandgettingnowherejustbecauseIfollowedrulesthatIhadnothingtodowith
settingup.
Especiallyintodaysonlineage.
Nooneknowsifyoureadogoran***untilyouTweetthatTweet,uploadthatselfie,postthat
Instagram.

Then,theonlythingyoucandoisrunforCongress.