The Wage Gap is Widening and Honestly? I'm Not Surprised.

You’ve probably seen news that the wage gap between men and women is widening. And if you’re a woman…well, you’re probably not surprised. I know I’m not. 

When I welcomed my twins, I left a full-time job in favor of freelancing. The move gave me so much flexibility, additional time with my family, and autonomy over my schedule. I got to be both a stay-at-home mom and a working mom. 

People tell me that I have the best of both worlds, but they don't acknowledge the tradeoff: I make significantly less than I would at a full-time job, for example. But that's the thing about being a woman, and especially mother: There is always a trade-off, and often that trade-off comes at the expense of money. Now, with return-to-office mandates, of course this is going to become more of an issue. 

As we finally confronted during the pandemic, women do disproportionate amounts of domestic labor and caregiving (not just for their kids, but for parents and community members as well). We don't always have the opportunity to go for every promotion, to take every work trip, to log every late night at the office, because we have other responsibilities...and because doing everything is a recipe for burnout.

It's a vicious cycle: The wage gap has always existed, not just because female-dominated fields tend to underpay, but also because women are paid less than men for the same jobs. 

And so, in many families (my own included!), it makes sense for the woman to scale back her career to make it all work; that career isn’t the one sustaining the family’s lifestyle.

Because of this, women often take the more flexible jobs, or the jobs with fewer hours, or the jobs that are closer to home…and they’re willing to settle for less money because they can’t afford not to. The cycle persists. Because they take on more work out of office, they can’t show up at work every day with their batteries fully charged.

I’m no economist; I don’t know how we solve this on a national level. But I do know that something needs to give. And I need my fellow women who are facing this to know: It’s not your fault. You aren’t failing. You are being failed. 

Ask Clara: Why do women make less money?