lege tuition or mortgage payments. Women stereotypes when choosing a career.
and Sciences at Stark campus, where she
start losing money right out of college. They
earn 5 percent less than men and the gap
continues to grow over a women’s career,
says Ariane Hegewisch, a study director at
International Women’s Rights Project.
So why does this gap exist? There
is no one reason but many that contribute
to why women are compensated less than
men in the workplace.
The majority of women pursue
“pink-collar jobs”
Historically, women take jobs in
seventy-seven cents
“low wage, low-skill fields,” according to
the American Association of University
Women. These jobs, commonly referred
to as “pink-collar jobs,” include nurses,
to a man’s dollar
secretaries and social workers – occu-
pations where the majority of the em-
ployees are female. “Pink-collar jobs”
are viewed as less important and
compensated less than men’s jobs.
Women in the top sector of “pink-
collar jobs” make about $10 less
an hour than men in the top
sector of male-dominated jobs,
according to IWPR. Men who
work in the lowest sectors of
male-dominated jobs are still
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a making more than women who
woman only went from earning 59 cents to 77 cents of a work in “pink-collar jobs” in
man’s dollar since 1960 – a shockingly slow growth the intermediate sectors.
On the rare occasion
considering that half a century has passed. By Kelly Petryszyn that women do take jobs in sec-
tors dominated by men, they are still
P
earning less. According to U.S. Census
data from 2000, women physicians
rofessor of biological sciences Kim Finer was hired at the same time as a male make $88,000 on average and male
colleague. She had the same degree as him. She had the same teaching experi- physicians make $140,000. The data
ence as him. She was hired in the same department as him. But one factor showed only five out of 505 oc-
didn’t stack up: Her salary was $500 less than his. In five years that amounts cupations where women earned
to $2,500 and $5,000 over ten years – enough to buy a quality used car. the same as men. If women want
“There is no valid explanation other than the male-female issue,” equal pay, they will have to be a
Finer says. “Annoying” is the only word Finer can muster to describe her feel- telecommunications line repairer,
ings about this overt inequality. convention planner, cafeteria
Finer is one of the many women in the United States who make up attendant, construction helper
the majority who are paid less than men. Although it has been 47 years since the Equal Pay Act or hazardous materials removal
was passed, women still earn 77 cents to every dollar men earn. According to the Institute for worker.
Women’s Policy Research, a woman only went from earning 59 cents to 77 cents of a man’s dollar “As a society, we value
since 1960 – a shockingly slow growth considering that half a century has passed. Although the child care workers less than we
gap is slowly shrinking, the workforce is still a man’s world. value maintenance workers,
“We are really still second class citizens in this country,” says Debra Haley, treasurer of truck drivers or even zookeep-
the Akron area National Organization for Women. While the Equal Pay Act, Fair Pay Act and Lilly ers,” Hegewisch says. She adds
Ledbetter Pay Act have been passed to right this wrong, Haley thinks not enough is being done to that women who are brave
enforce these legislative acts, and society has come to accept this gap. enough to cross in male sector
“It has been conditioned into society and been an acceptable practice for so long,” she sometimes retreat back to the
says. “Even after women have been given higher education, the practice still unjustifiably goes on.” female sector because of sexual
The money lost to pay inequality is substantial. Each year, the pay gap costs women harassment at work, such as derogatory
about $11,000 or about $400,000 over a lifetime, according to NOW. That means a woman is not comments or different treatment. She thinks
getting paid for almost a week of work every month. The money lost could mean a child’s col- it is possible that the fear of discrimination
may contribute to women’s choice not to
enter the higher-paying male sector. Another
reason could also be that women, whether
they are aware of it, tend to follow gender
12• ar temi s
“I think women are raised to believe
that there are certain careers that are more
appropriate,” says Lee Fox, associate psychol-
ogy professor at the Stark campus. “Either
nursing, teaching, secretarial work … so to
even think that you might want to be a mar-
keting professor or business logistics — it’s
not that it doesn’t happen — it’s just not on
the radar screen for women.”
The differences
can be seen with in
Kent State Univer-
sity. Fox, along with
another professor,
conducted a 2010
study
comparing earnings
of female and male faculty members at Kent
State titled “Inequity in the Academy.” Their
research showed it was not as common for
female professors at Kent State to teach in
the higher paying colleges, like the College
of Business.
Finer teaches in the College of Arts
says she is paid more than others because
her field has a higher earning potential out-
side of the university. In fact, for years Finer
has been the only female at full professor
rank across all regional campuses, but she
says more women are getting into science so
she will not be alone much longer. She has
never felt threatened or intimidated being
surrounded by primarily male co-workers;
however, she would have accepted a women
co-worker with open arms, especially when
problem solving because at times being the
only women present is frustrating.
Loneliness may be one reason
women stay away from these fields. Haley
says women gravitate toward “pink-collar
jobs” because they are socialized to
think that is their role. She emphasizes
that women traditionally don’t chase
after power and money, but women
need to start believing they can.
“Women need more models to
follow into the male-oriented fields,”
she says. “The trailblazers help other
women navigate through the male struc-
ture of the workplace.
“Educating women, making them
— and society — aware of the disparity
and the attitudes, beliefs and values that
perpetuate the patriarchal system helps to
open dialog that will change it.”
Women experience more
career interruptions than
men
Women earn less than men
because they tend to work less than
men. Overall, women work about
1,498 hours and men work 2,219
hours per year, according to a report
by the IWPR. Women aren’t able
to clock in as many hours because
they have more career interruptions.
Career interruptions can be anything
from child care to taking care of
elderly parents. Fox says her research
showed that women traditionally bear
the grunt of the work in families.
“There’s just taking time to be
pregnant and have a child, which
takes them out of the workforce, and
then diminishes what they call human
capital, which is stuff like experience, and
that seems to disproportionately affect
women over men,” Fox says.
Andrea Adolph, associate English
professor at the Stark campus, took a dif-
ferent path than most women. She stayed
single by choice and chose to have a child
by artificial insemination. She wanted to
keep a secure position on the tenure track,
so she chose to not take time off. She was
conscious of stereotypes about caretaking
and was adamant about not falling it that
ar temi s• 13
 category. This way, “no one could call her out as quickly men. According to Fox’s research, she says. She points out that men don’t
on dropping the professional ball,” she says. the average age for earning a Ph.D. is 33 seem to worry about appearing too aggres-
Even though men can take time off years old, which falls within the prime years sive and approach negotiation as part of do-
for family leave, research shows they often for childbearing, thereby creating a conflict ing business. Adolph now tells all women she

don’t take advantage of that. Fox is not sure
why men don’t, but she has a hunch that it has
to do with the fear that they may be nega-
tively perceived by their boss and co-workers.
for many women. Some women advance
slowly through academic ranks, while others
drop out of Ph.D. programs entirely.
Females are also disadvantaged in
Ad.
knows to negotiate in the hiring process.
Questions loom about remainder

“
Since more women take advantage
of family leave than men, they are viewed as
being less committed, Hegewisch says. She
adds that as soon as a woman becomes a
mother, the wage gap widens 35 percent.
This not only affects their career but their
retirement as well.
pay negotiation. A group of researchers sug-
gest women aren’t as good at negotiating as
men, Fox says. She adds that sometimes this
is seen as unfeminine, but she is not sure of
I just have to
of the gap and what it will be in
the future
Once the factors of qualifications,
hours worked and job fields are considered,
Fox’s study reflects that women are still
making 4 to 7 percent less than men. That
is about $2,500 to $4,080 less. Fox can find

They are unable to save for
retirement because they have to support
children, Haley says. As a result, many wom-
en are struggling to get by, especially those
who are single and rely on one income.
Men have better advantages
Holding the higher paying jobs
and not having to worry about children
equate to men have better advantages over
women in the workforce.
The biggest advantage is that men
are often promoted quicker. Fox found
in her research that the number of men
and women being promoted to associate
professor, the rank before full professor, is
almost equal. She did find, however, that men
at Kent State are two times as likely to be
promoted to full professor as women.
“That’s an interesting and troubling
difference,” Fox says. She says this may be
because men have more of the attributes
that are valued in a professor, such as
experience and a Ph.D. degree. Research
shows women hold half of the Ph.D. degrees
in this country, but it is more challenging for
women to move through the academic ranks
”
prove that I am
as good as, if not
better, than my
male colleagues.
­­— Kim Finer
the exact reason. Some women don’t know
how their salaries stack up against men’s
because not all companies make salaries
transparent. Fox says this causes women to
not know what salary to negotiate for and,
in some cases, not aware they are making
less than their male counterparts.
When Adolph was hired, two oth-
ers were hired at the same time: a man and
a woman. Both were offered higher salaries
than her. Both had more teaching experi-
ence, but the woman did what Adolph didn’t:
she negotiated. When Adolph was hired, she
was told the offered salary was the bot-
tom line, and she didn’t challenge that. Now
Adolph knows better.
“Historically, women are socialized
not to ask for more or be too demanding,”
no other explanation for this difference
than gender bias.
Hegewisch says women have made
strides in the types of jobs they are getting
and the wage gap has narrowed, but the gap
has not disappeared. Women are still facing
inequality. She says the gap can be closed
by taking three sets of action: having more
transparency about salaries, better child
care benefits and more education about
negotiating salaries.
Women can overcome the obsta-
cles that challenge them; Finer says they just
have to work harder at it. Finer is happy to
report that since she has been hired, she has
surpassed her male counterparts in ranking
and paycheck by working hard.
“I just have to prove that I am as
good as, if not better, than my male col-
leagues,” she says.
Finer is seeing hope on the ho-
rizon. She thinks the university is getting
more sensitive about gender when hiring
and is seeing more women enter in her field.
“I think we are getting to a better
place,” she says.

Legislation working
to close the pay gap
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act When Lilly Ledbetter, a Goodyear Tire Company employee, was close to
retirement, someone handed her a note comparing her earnings to a man’s at the company over the same
amount of time, Hegewisch says. Ledbetter was furious and took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The act
would ensure individuals subjected to unfair pay discrimination are able to effectively assert their rights under
federal anti-discrimination laws. President Barack Obama signed this act into law in 2009. It was the first
piece of legislation he signed into law as president.

Fair Pay Act This is a bill to amend the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act and the 1963 Equal Pay Act. It would
provide equal pay, protection of wage discrimination victims, require employer tacking of payroll practices
and establish consequences for violations. It was introduced into Congress in 2007 and is pending review.
Source: National Women’s Law Center

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