Rachel Cottam

Working together for gender equality

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What’s the deal with the gender pay gap?

In her fifteenth year of teaching, my Great-Grandma made $1700. That year, a male teacher started at her school with a salary of $2000.

It was his first year of teaching, he had no prior experience, and (as was accounted for in compensation at the time) he had no spouse or children. 

My GG—who had 15 years of experience and a house full of kids—was furious.

According to my paternal Grandma, GG petitioned the principal and went so far as to take it to the school board. She asked, why was this male teacher making so much more than her?

You have a husband, they said.

He needs the income to provide for a family, they said. 

You are a woman, they did not say. 

Despite all her efforts, they never adjusted her salary to equal or exceed that of her male peers (or juniors).

GG never really got over this. When my Grandma told me GG’s story, she mentioned under her breath that she thinks this conflict is part of the reason GG “started on the pills.” When I asked my Grandma what she meant, she brushed it off with a comment about GG’s blues and a look that said we would not be discussing this further. 

You know how Grandmas can be. 

My GG was snubbed in the 1950s, but even in 2024, women still only make 84 cents on the dollar in the U.S. 

This is why we keep talking about the gender pay gap. Because for GG’s sake, we can do better.

So is the gender pay gap a myth? If not, how should we address it?

I live in the U.S. state that ranks worst for gender equality—and that includes compensation. Where most of the U.S. hovers around a 16-cent pay difference between men and women, Utah’s pay gap is closer to 28 cents. 

Yikes.

In this episode of Allies at Work, I break down everything I know about the gender pay gap and answer two important questions. 

First, is the gender pay gap a myth? 

And second, should we address it? 

As a disclaimer: I’m not an economist—I’m a marketing leader, professional writer, and community advocate who leads a committee to close the gender pay gap in our state. I’ve made it my mission to learn and hear from as many different perspectives on this issue as possible. It’s my goal in this episode to present my findings as objectively as I can. 

That said, I may get something wrong. And when I do, I hope you’ll reach out to me and help me learn more. It’s just like we say here: Learn more, do better. 

A few key takeaways

“Based on what we can measure and what we can’t the largest agreed upon factor in impacting the gender pay gap is this: Women’s labor is still undervalued by society.”

“Part of the conversation around the wage gap is enabling men to be present too. As long as we continue to put the caregiving burden on women—saying that it’s innate to us and our biology—we’re actually denying men the opportunity to lean into their biology and their innate compassion as fathers.”

“Cancer still exists even though I know what causes it—and we analogize that to the wage gap. Well, just because I can explain the wage gap by educational differences, by industry differences, by job title differences, doesn’t make it go away.”

To come to your own conclusion about how we should address the gender pay gap, listen to the full episode below.

Allyship action: Have a salary conversation

At the end of each episode, I share an allyship microaction—something you can start doing right away. Today’s allyship action: Have a salary conversation. 

Your right to discuss wages is protected by NLRA

I’ve made it a habit to proactively share my compensation with female friends or women who come to me for career advice. This way, they don’t have to ask the awkward question.

It’s a simple act, but if we can make this information more readily available to women—and especially women of color—it’s easier for them to know when they’re being underpaid and what their target range should be.

I know this can feel awkward and scary. There’s still a stigma around talking about wages.

But your right to communicate with other employees about your compensation is actually protected under the National Labor and Relations Act. If your employer tries to say you can’t talk about this, that’s actually illegal. (Similar laws exist internationally).

Knowledge is power for mothers and women of color

I’ve held workshops where I’ve prompted everyone in the audience to share their salary with a neighbor. When I’ve asked attendees how it felt sharing their salary they said:  “Awkward,” “Weird,” “Embarrassing,” and “Intense.” But they also said it felt really “empowering.”

Because even today, talking about salary is taboo for many of us. Especially as women, we feel we’re breaking the rules by having transparent salary conversations.

Well, guess what?

That very feeling is the reason we need to keep having these conversations. If we want to eliminate the pay gap for mothers and women of color, we need to empower each other with knowledge.

But, what if I share my salary with her and she’s making less than I am? What if she has more years of experience and thinks I’m a fraud?

Men, no matter what the number is, we won’t hold anything personally against you. It’s the system of inequity we have a problem with—not you. You should be paid well, but we also need data to inform our salary conversations and career goals.

It can still be hard to know where to start, so here are 3 options to make it easier. 

3 scripts for salary conversations

First, when salary questions come up, extend a general invitation to your network.

Say “I’m happy to share my salary one-on-one, just let me know if you’re interested.”

Second, if you’re uncomfortable sharing your current salary, share a recent salary instead.

Say, “When I started in [role] in [year], I made $[this much].” 

A note here: if a female peer asks you for your current salary, it’s not because she’s trying to outearn you. She’s probably just trying to understand what she’s worth. In these instances, it can be really meaningful to share your current salary instead of a previous—this gives her an accurate target to work towards with your mutual manager. 

Third, if you don’t want to share an exact number, research the salary range for your title and share where you land within the range.

Say something like, “Based on Glassdoor current ranges for [title], I fall in the [top/mid/etc].”

Compensation shouldn’t be shrouded in mystery.

Let’s keep feeling awkward and keep speaking up.

Making an impact from pay gap to parenting

Understanding and combatting the pay gap is one way to be a better ally at work. You can also improve gender equality in your workplace by being aware of the challenges parents face. Like RBG said, women—and parents—belong in all rooms where decisions are being made.

You never know what you’ll learn from their perspective. Tune in next time to learn more.

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Rachel Cottam

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