Reposted from The Business Woman.
Equality in the workplace might be improving, but there’s still a large chasm between men and women. And the gender gap is not just about how much you’re paid.
As this infographic shows, for each $1 a man makes, a woman makes just $0.77, but that pay disparity is also reflected in other aspects.
Overall, men’s company budgets are twice as large as those of women with three times the number of direct reporting staff. That means women are essentially having to do more with less.
Women are likelier to be passed over for high profile assignments, with projects of more than $10 million assigned 30% of the time to men and only 22% of the time to women.
Women are more likely than men to be impacted by parental duties: with 42% of mothers but only 28% of fathers reducing work hours, 39% of mothers vs 24% of fathers taking a significant amount of time off, 27% of mothers vs 10% of fathers quitting their job, and 13% of mothers vs 10% of fathers being turned down for a promotion.
As the number of children increases, men work more but women work less. With no children, the average is 27hrs/wk for women and 32hrs/wk for men. Add a single child and those hours change to 26 and 40 respectively. Add a second child and the average hours become 23 and 42, while three or children means averages of 18 and 46.
There’s a similar gender gap in unpaid work. Overall, the average paid hours for women are 21hrs/wk and for men 30hr/wk. Unpaid work for women averages 21hrs/wk while men are at just 13hrs/wk.
Many women probably aren’t aware of the disparities, or are convinced this is the ‘natural order’ of things. It isn’t. More changes are needed before there is real gender equality in the workplace, but there are some key strategies you can use to help strengthen your position right now.
Salary gender gap
Benchmark the salaries of men in similar positions to yours. If there is a disparity, ask to have your salary formally benchmarked. If you think you have a strong foundation for bargaining, don’t settle for being paid the same ¾ ask for more than the men are being paid.
Budget gender gap
Research the budgets men in similar positions have in your company. If there is a disparity, request more resources, outlining the benefit to the company in terms of increased results.
Unpaid work gender gap
Try to keep track of the unpaid work you do… hours can easily creep up and overtake your life. It may be unpaid, but it’s still work. If there’s a huge disparity between you and your partner, discuss whether they can shoulder more of the load.
Position gender gap
Don’t be intimidated by the number of men in high-powered roles; see it as “position” not as a “man’s job”, and know that women can secure that position too.
