When I had my first chat with Erin, she asked me why I thought there was a disparity between the number of men and women who pursue a career in STEM and Economics. Embarrassingly, I uhmed and arhed. But is this occupational segregation a sufficient explanation for the gender wage gap? It is commonly known that women make 77 cents to every US dollar a man earns. This pay gap refers to the difference in average hourly rates between men and women- so what does this gap really tell us about the inequality between men and women in the workplace?

There are a great many myths when it comes to the gender pay gap. Firstly, it is easy to blame discrimination, but unlike in the past, you are unlikely to find a firm openly saying that they won’t hire women. The gender pay gap is an average figure which cannot tell you if pay discrimination between individuals is happening. Equal pay for equal work, more precisely refers to a need for men and women to receive the same pay for the same job. What is clear, however, is -as described by Harvard economist Claudia Goldin- that even if you gave men and women the same job you would only be whipping out a quarter of the earning differences. Thus, this occupational segregation cannot begin to explain the gender pay gap.

Others may blame this divide on innate differences in women, where they are less competitive and prefer more nurturing roles than their male counterparts. Another common misconception is that women are not as demanding as men when it comes to pay. Famously in the film American Hustle Jennifer Lawrence was paid less than her male colleagues, stating that “[she] failed as a negotiator because [she] gave up early.” Lawrence opened up about accepting a lower pay, out of a desire to be well liked. However, the problem is more deeply rooted than this, a study by Cass Business School and the University of Warwick shows that early on in their career women are just as likely to ask for a raise as men but are 25% less likely to receive it.

What people often do not realise is that the real cause of the gender pay gap lies in the desire for temporal flexibility. As women get older, they tend to seek out jobs with more flexible working hours or the ability to work from home in order to have children or care for family members. Let’s say that an equally qualified male and female graduate from the same university with the same law degree and land the same job at a law firm. As time goes on it is likely that the female will seek out a job at a smaller firm where she is given the option to work from home but is consequently paid less. Thus, by large it appears that this gap ultimately comes down to the cost of temporal flexibility in certain occupations. It’s all about how big firms value maternity leave or the opportunity for greater flexibility. This female lawyer who now works at a smaller firm, is not working fewer hours or doing anything particularly different but has instead been forced to seek work where the pay is less.

The all-important question is, what can be done? Many people like to argue that the solution to equality in the workplace lies with men, such that they need to be re-socialised and take a more active role in family care. However, I am sure that if someone knew how to reprogramme all men in this world it surely would have happened by now. There are undoubtedly easier ways to lessen the gender pay gap. No one wants to converge men and women in such a way that we are identical beings, but perhaps we ought to search for ways to lessen the cost of temporal flexibility.

Emma Yusuf