Summary: Project ideas.
Why do women earn less than men?
Even when women have the same education and the same grades, they earn less. Women earn less whether they are surgeons, dentists, lawyers, or accountants. Why?
A good student project would be to explore this topic. Students will find that on a whole women earn less than men because they work less hours. Usually women care about household production more than men so they choose to work less. Also, women are the caregivers. The Census in 2000 showed that women end up working 20% less than men over their careers. Women work closer to home so they take lower paying jobs. These are all of the reasons microeconomists usually give.
I think women's wages are related to their ability to negotiate a higher wage. Either they crowd into a market traditionally dominated by women or they think they can work harder and earn more. With less than 3% of CEOs women, the latter view is impoverished.
About the Author: Mike Fladlien is an AP Economics teacher from Muscatine High School in Muscatine, IA. He is an EconEdLink.org author, and also publishes the
Mikeroeconomics and
iMacroeconomics VB blogs.