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There is a persistent belief among many people that women get paid less than men when they work in the same jobs, have the same education, experience and qualifications, work the same hours, etc. Most experts now agree that is not true, but it is an indisputable fact that women do earn less than men, on average. That is to say, if we take the average income for ALL women in the workforce and compare it to ALL men’s, women’s would be significantly lower.

Most experts agree the difference is due to a multitude of factors, including the fact that women choose different careers, place salary lower on their list of priorities than men do when making career and job choices, work fewer hours than men and often remove themselves from the workforce for extended periods of time to have and raise children. Studies have shown that when all those things are controlled for, the pay gap virtually disappears.

An important thing to consider is that all of those factors are within women’s control. They are choices. Women can and do earn just as much as their male counterparts if and when they make the same life and career choices.

But there are those who believe society should be doing more to make sure women earn as much as men. For example, some believe the government should override market forces and require that female dominated fields such as nursing be compensated at the same rates as male dominated fields such as engineering. Others argue that we just need to make it clearer that it is 100% within women’s power to earn as much as men do if they make the same choices men do.

What do you think?