What drives the gap?
Is it the choices we make or the system we are in?
Maybe it's a bit of both but they are definitely interconnected.
McKinsey recently released a research report titled "Tough trade-offs: How time and career choices shape the gender pay gap".
It is a fascinating read and as I am making my way through it, I wanted to share some key highlights.
Although the report is primarily based on 86,000 real-life online career histories of professionals in the US, it has many similarities to professional cohorts in other countries and hence worth us paying attention to especially now that we know some of the causal factors.
The bottom line is that the burden of unpaid care work and bringing up a family takes a huge toll in the earnings between men and women.
This is not new, but the insight is in the detail:
Work experience trajectories diverge between men and women which McKinsey calls the "work-experience pay gap" and this makes up nearly 80% of the total gender pay gap.
One third of the "work-experience pay gap" is due to women accumulating less time on the job than men.
The other two-thirds are due to different career pathways that men and women pursue over time.
As a result of this, and this is no surprise:
Career progress of women slows over time.
They take on more part time roles.
Pay gaps between women and men start emerging by around age 29.
By their mid-40s, women earn ~35% less than men, on average
What if the system could be changed instead of just harping on about the choices we make?
Let's face it, men aren’t giving birth anytime soon, so what if we stopped focusing on the choices women have to make and instead adapt the system to address the “work-experience pay gap” head-on.
The good news is, it's not that hard, if you really want change, the system can change!
I will keep sharing my reflections on this.
And, if you would like a copy of my very practical guide on "Accelerating women into leadership roles and closing the gender pay gap", just reach out.