Equal Pay Day

The Gender Pay Gap

Today, April 2^nd, is Equal Pay Day.

If you are a white woman working in the United States, on average, you had to work all of 2018 and then until today, in 2019, to earn the same amount that a white man did in 2018.  A gender pay gap is found even if you control for education level, hours worked, experience, industry and occupation. The exact gap differs by state.  However, even in the most equal state, California, women still only earn 89 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

According to the National Women’s Law Center , the average woman would earn $400,000 more over the course of her career if the gender pay gap did not exist.  Black women would earn $950,000 more. That extra money would allow women to pay off student loans sooner, as well as improve savings for a house, retirement, and even for investment in a business.  

The pay gap is worse not only with race but also with motherhood.  According to the Economic Policy Institute, controlling for other factors, moms make 4.6% less per hour than women without children. Women who take off a year to care for children or other family, have earnings 39% less than women who have not taken time off.

Does the gender pay gap exist in veterinary medicine?

Absolutely. The AVMA statistics on gender pay gap look specifically at graduating female and male veterinarians who accept full time employment.  The data excludes internships and residencies. In 2018, the average starting salary for men was $85,000. For women, it was only $82,000.

While this is only a 3% difference in starting salaries, the gap grows over time and can be as much as 20% in higher veterinary income brackets.

Why is there a gender pay gap?

There are lots of reasons for the pay gap.  People who make hiring decisions have explicit or implicit bias that women do not work as hard as men.  There is a belief that women are likely to commit less to their careers if they have young children or if they are of child bearing age. Oddly, men often receive bumps in compensation when they become fathers. Women are less likely than men to advance up the ladder within companies. They are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet all written job requirements. They are also more likely to be passed over for leadership positions.

To compound the problem, women often do not negotiate job offers.  In a study of MBAs finishing from Carnegie Mellon, 57% of male students negotiated their salary compared to only 7% of the women.  A 2015 study by Glassdoor over a range of industries showed that 16% less women than men negotiated a presented job offer.

Women rarely receive training on how to negotiate well.  Women intuitively know, and studies show, that if you negotiate in a way that is perceived as not “friendly enough,” it can backfire.

It’s not just pay

Interestingly and sadly, women veterinarians also graduate with over $9000 more debt than men.  The reasons for this disparity are not clear.

Thus, women start with more debt and lower salary putting them at a financial disadvantage for years.  No wonder burnout in veterinary medicine is increasing.

So, What Can Be Done about the Pay Gap

Companies can decide from the top to make a difference.

Today, Starbucks announced that they were joining with more than 20 companies in committing to adopt pay equity principles. 

These principles include:

1) Equal footing from the start.  For all new job hires, compensation should be based on the employee’s role, skills, abilities and experience, not race or gender.

2) Transparency.  Employees are ENCOURAGED to openly ask and discuss wages without fear of retaliation. Transparency means inequity comes to the forefront and can be addressed.

3) Accountability.  These companies all committed to conduct annual company wide gender pay analysis, to incorporate equal pay into equity initiatives, and to work to reduce unconscious and structural barriers.

Veterinarians should advocate for MARS, NVA, VetCor, and the other veterinary groups to publicly sign on to these pay equity principles.

Women need to improve their ability and willingness to negotiate for fair pay

One interesting fact is that women have been shown to negotiate better for others than for themselves.  Women will often negotiate harder for a higher salary when put in context of what it allows them to do in terms of care for their families.

This video is a great resource for thinking about how women can improve negotiation using their unique skills.

Here are additional resources on negotiations:

Videos from Lean In

Tips from Harvard Business School

Women and Negotiation: Are There Really Gender Differences?

We all need to advocate to our local, state and federal government for family friendly policies. 

The United States is one of only a handful of countries that does not have a national paid parental leave law.  Out of 193 countries in the United Nations, the United States joins only New Guinea, Suriname and a few South Pacific Island nations in not having this type of support for families.   In addition, affordable preschool is crucial for parents to get back to work.

Eliminating the gender pay gap will not be easy but change is possible. Lets all do our part to make true equal pay a reality.