Equal pay for men??

I was fascinated by a new study in the September issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology. Yes, we all knew that on average men earn more than women in the same jobs. But it also turns out that there’s a pay difference among MEN based on their attitudes toward gender! Men who have more traditional attitudes about family and women in the workplace earn more than men with more "liberal" or "modern" attitudes.   And there’s an pay/attitude connection among women too! Women with a "traditional" attitude about gender roles earn the least! (Clearly not as surprising.)  The differences are big. Men wth traditional attidudes earn almost 12 thousand dollars a year  more than the men with more egalitarian views, and 14 thousand a year more than the women with traditional attitudes. Again…same sorts of jobs with same levels of education and putting in the same number of hours per week.

The study didn’t offer any suggestion as to why there’s this gap–especially among men. The men/women gap has long been studied–and is usually attributed to everything from sexism at higher levels to women’s reluctance to demand a decent salary at the start of their career–therefore compounding their disadvantage as the years go on.  But among men?? I’m puzzled. Is it that the men who think about gender roles in society in a more traditional fashion are more demanding in their salary negotiations? Are they more confident? Do they give off a vibe that they’re worth more? 

Thoughts???

Equal pay is one of the campaingn issues the Obama team is using now to try to rally women. His campaign points out he supports equal pay legislation–while McCain does not. Maybe they should both start campaigning on equal pay for MEN of ALL attitudes!!! Might get voters’ attention!

Claire