That Can’t Be the Only Reason

Although there have been many discussions in class about the wage differentials between men and women I thought it would be interesting to hypothesize that there is research to prove that the world is analyzing the facts on why men make more than women and what is attempting to be done to correct the outdated and long-standing issue. I hypothesize that although there is data showing that the wage difference between sexes has already began to decline there are many reasons why there is a wage differential besides the obvious that
“men are superior”.
The gap between earnings of male and female workers has declined significantly over the past 30 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 1979 median weekly earnings of full-time female workers were 63.5 percent of male workers' earnings, implying a gap of 36.5 percent. The earnings gap dropped to 30 percent in 1989 and to 23.7 percent in 1999. In the second quarter of 2011, the gap reached a low of 16.5 percent. (BLS)
Despite the accuracy of these numbers, many researchers believe that the mere comparison of median weekly earnings of male and female workers (represented in graph 1) presents an incomplete picture. First, women are likely to work fewer hours than men, which would make a gap in weekly earnings between the two groups substantial even if their hourly wages are the same. Most economic studies of a gender gap use hourly wages instead of weekly earnings as a measure. Second, many other factors (such as education and labor force attachment) could affect wages. Research suggests that the actual gender wage gap (when female workers are compared with male workers who have similar characteristics) is much lower than the raw wage gap.
One should also point out that differences in educational attainment, work experience and occupational choice contribute to the gender wage gap. As women become more educated, they have more employment opportunities in occupations that require higher skills and pay higher wages.
Such occupational "upgrades" helped to narrow the wage gap. However, there are still significantly fewer women in highly paid occupations. Men are more likely to be lawyers, doctors and business executives, while women are more likely to be teachers, nurses and office clerks. This gender occupational segregation might be a primary factor behind the wage gap.
Another important reason for the gender gap is the difference in labor force attachment between men and women. Women are likely to leave their careers temporarily for childbirth and raising children. Such leaves may be associated with a decrease in human capital and with temporary delays in training and promotion, which consequently lead to lower wages. In addition, women are more likely to work part time and less likely to work overtime than men because of family responsibilities.
Because women have weaker labor force attachment than men, women tend to be assigned to positions where turnover is less costly. As a result, women are employed in positions that have a shorter duration of on-the-job training and that use less capital. These differences in on-the-job training and capital in positions filled by men and women, along with an implied lower value placed on women's prior labor market experience, account for a substantial part of the gap in wages between males and females. One must also take into account differences between men and women in educational attainment, work experience, occupation, career interruptions, part-time status and overtime worked.
Some researchers believe that it is not enough to compare wages of similar men and women. They argue that total compensation (wages together with benefits) must be compared. Women of child-bearing age may prefer jobs with a lower wage but with employer-paid parental leave, sick leave and child care to jobs with a higher wage but without such benefits. Some economists believe that female workers "pay" for the benefits they prefer by accepting a lower wage. If that is the case, excluding fringe benefits would exaggerate the actual gender wage disparity. Despite the difficulty in measuring the gender gap in earnings, the topic attracts much attention. Hopefully, continued economic research on the subject will add to a meaningful discussion.
Whether or not my hypothesis can be truly proven I believe that all of the reasons listed above and many more account for the difference in wages and although the past does have a significant impact on the beginning differential there will always be a differential in wage between the sexes for the simple reason that we each have different sets of values and plans for our lives.

References
Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers—Second Quarter 2011." July 19, 2011. See http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf