VA low in pay equity

Local, Virginia 1 Minute

According to this article, a recent study shows that Virginia ranks near the bottom in terms of equal pay for women. Only New Jersey and Louisiana rank lower.

Nationally, the study found that one year out of college, women earn 80 percent of what men make. The gap widens with time: 10 years after college, the differential is 69 percent. The report looked at jobs in the public and private sectors.

It is appropriate that former ODU president and economics professor James Koch would weigh in on this study.

Koch, who has written about pay equity in academia and sports, also said women’s behavior contributed to the difference. Women, he said, often negotiate less aggressively than men and are less likely to be “risk-takers.”

Blaming women for being unfairly treated? Normally, I have a lot of respect for Koch’s economic analysis but this smacks of sexism to the nth degree. Bias has no place in analysis and my opinion of Dr. Koch just fell a notch or two.

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19 thoughts on “VA low in pay equity”

  1. Did you not read the second block quote VJP provided? It said several things that women in general could do to make themselves more likely to make more money. If someone does not do those things, then they are preventing themselves from reaching their potential. The definition of an underachiever.

    Nice try, though.

  2. I must disagree here, MH. Unless one’s job is to be a negotiator, being a poor negotiator will result in lower pay than a good negotiator will get, even if their achievements on the job are equal.

    I was a bit annoyed to see that getting a Master’s degree won’t help me — I’ve been busting my hump for nothin’! And I’m an Engineer, so the pay gap is against me! (Actually, that’s been the case in my field for 20 years.)

  3. Olivia–good clarification. I wouldn’t use the word “demand” to qualify that sort of negotiation behavior. If anything, I call it “being honest.” ‘Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it, but I require more in terms of compensation.” “Honey, I love you, but I feel like you’re not being considerate of me when…”

    I do know women who are what I *would* term demanding in their negotiations, and it’s frustrating to deal with them, especially on a personal level because they’re always angry and always trying to push, and they don’t realize that we take that as a sign of weakness (in men OR women).

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