I happened upon a quick vlog from Michelle Dewberry in regards to her appearance on Good Morning Britain discussing Pay Gap and the new bill passed taking effect this month ( April 2018) that works on reducing the pay gap (mainly in male dominate industries).
Since the segment was not long it made it tough for her to actually finish her point of what she sees. For many, there is a belief that there is a pay gap that is strictly about gender. But the context of the stats are skewed to show this as the truth or fact.
She has great points and a must to listen to. ( I will make a comment about the vlog after)
She touched on most things. One thing that she touched on and is definitely what most people who argue about gender gaps and pay gaps neglect to talk about is our nature as being female and male.
We are equal in our abilities but not always our passions and temperaments. Women are caregivers by nature (with of course a few exceptions - and they are the ones who usually strive to be on the top positions) and so we tend to choose careers where pay is lower (nursing, home care, teachers, non for profit lawyers, the list goes on). I highly doubt that a male nurse is being paid differently than a female nurse , but the percentage of women vs men in the field is high and we can't ignore that.
Maybe we need also encourage boys to be okay with wanting to be in those occupations more rather than only encouraging girls to strive to be successful in male dominant areas. Or start looking at why we pay those occupations lower than many other occupations.Female scientists are generally being paid the same as a male scientist doing the same job. We have focused on large corporations (and you are right because they are run by they old boys, they may not have changed yet with the times, but they will retire soon anyway).
Studies have shown that when you leave it to a person to just be themselves in a gender neutral Environment, the gap in what each gender chooses to do is wide. More men move to occupations like engineering and more women move to more occupations that are caregiving in nature.
I am from Canada originally and grew up where everyone was taught the same, we were all given the same opportunities between the girls and the boys. I can tell you right now that most of my female classmates chose Nursing, teaching , or something in the liberal arts. The majority of boys went into farming, engineering, or something of that nature. We were all presented and encouraged to find our own passions and careers. No one was institutionally discouraged ( I say that because some may have followed parents encouragement, who knows).
I agree with Michelle that we need to stop the victim mentality we are telling our girls. WE are only victims if we allow it That means we encourage girls to first be themselves and letting it be okay if she want to be a mechanic or a stay at home mom. We need to stop demonizing nurturing type jobs like staying at home and allow everyone to be themselves.
If you are still focusing on the pay gap then instead of looking at the big industries and the old boys club, start advocating for better pay in care giving industries. Nurses have to train just as long and as much as Doctor's do so they should be paid the same.