The debate over the gender wage gap has been raging for a very long time, likely dating back to when Rebekah earned fewer shekels for hauling water than did Isaac for herding goats. We've all heard that a woman earns about 80 cents for every buck made by a guy. In fact, the AFL-CIO, citing a government report, devotes an entire section of its Web site to remedies for pay discrimination.
But what if, like so many other statistics, this one doesn't tell the full story? What if you factor in things that men are more likely to do at work that lead to greater financial rewards? Admittedly, these practices read like the Office Handbook From Hell: clock longer hours, relocate to undesirable places, travel extensively, and toil under crummy conditions (think North Sea oil rigs). Companies, desperate to attract workers to fill such jobs, tend to offer higher pay. Men are more likely to take the bait -- and reap the rewards.
Then consider the evidence that until kids enter the picture, women earn as much as men -- and often even more. Don't believe it? Check the census data on earnings of never-married men and women. Women don't hit an income gap until family responsibilities factor into job choices. That's typically when men agree to take on more onerous work in an attempt to be better providers, and women back off from such tasks in an effort to be more available to the kids.
"The wage gap is not about corporate discrimination but about the division of labor that happens when men and women have children," says Warren Farrell, author of Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap -- and What Women Can Do About It (AMACOM, January 2005). "The biggest misconception is that there's a wage gap for the same work."
Farrell's point is that men's actions lead to their having more income. Conversely, what women do leads to more balanced lives. But anyone who's willing can up their earnings by engaging in these tactics. On the other hand, if you're seeking a life with more sanity, these are the behaviors to avoid.
Kathy Vrabeck, president of Activision Publishing, the video-game producer behind Shrek 2 and the Tony Hawk series, says that's the best piece of advice she could give anyone seeking to move up the financial ranks. Vrabeck had an early glimpse of how this works while at Eli Lilly, where she noticed that R&D was the driving function of big pharma. At Activision, she's responsible for game development -- the function on which the company's success largely depends. "In any company, it's the operating jobs, not the staff jobs, that generate revenue," she says. "A company's always willing to pay more for people who are willing to take on the responsibility of a line job and the risk that entails."
Even garden-variety venture capitalists can expect to earn between $100,000 and $300,000 a year, according to Salary.com. Of course, if they bet the ranch on an online pet-food supplier, they also risk losing a bundle. Currency traders, real-estate speculators, and many sales executives all gamble that they can use their smarts to make a living. If they're right, they can clean up. If not, they've got nobody but themselves to blame. The market pays a premium for that kind of chutzpah.
"Enough!" you say. "Americans already work more hours per year than the rest of the planet!" So true. But if you're willing to be the alpha dog of wage slaves in your industry, you can expect to be rewarded handsomely. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the average person working 45 hours per week earns 44% more than someone who works 40 hours. Why? The willingness to work more often leads to jobs that pay more per hour. At the upper reaches of a corporation, this can be significant. Top CEOs typically command pay in the super-7-digit range. But they also generally paid their dues with 15-hour days, six days a week, for an average of 20 years. The road to higher pay, alas, is a toll road, with no EZ-Pass for the fast lane.
"Anybody can go to a job with a high-growth business and do well. That's easy. Go to a really broken business and make your mark. Those are the most rewarding." -- Charlene Begley, CEO of GE Transportation, Rail
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