Harvard Study Links Job Flexibility to Equal Pay

Author: Marta Moakley, XpertHR Legal Editor

January 7, 2014

Harvard professor Claudia Goldin's new paper links employee access to flexible work arrangements as the key to narrowing pay disparities between the sexes. In an address to the American Economic Association (where Goldin serves as President), the professor suggests that employers have great latitude in narrowing gender wage gaps by allowing flexible work arrangements (e.g., telecommuting, job sharing or flexible schedules) where practicable.

Goldin suggests that the gender pay gap's solution need not involve government intervention or increased help in the home. Instead, the answer may lie in the labor market itself and the flexible options available to workers.

However, regulators have been active in this area as well: as of January 1, 2014, Vermont employers may not retaliate against employees who request flexible working arrangements. This "right to request" law was included within legislation addressing equal pay.

According to the Census Bureau's 2012 data, male full-time, year-round workers earn an average of $49,400, compared with $37,800 for female workers (earnings rounded to the nearest $100). Therefore, women's average earnings constitute 77 percent of men's (up from 61 percent in 1960).

Industries that have been historically male-dominated, such as finance and law, have seen great changes in terms of employee demographics, but have been slow to equalize any wage disparities. Some cite the jobs' need for long hours at the office and any consequent work-life balance choices as an explanation: often, female professionals may take some time off from their careers in order to have or care for children, resulting in lower earnings. In addition, some women may forsake partnerships in business enterprises in order to have a less demanding schedule.

Other industries, such as healthcare and science, have experienced greater gains in narrowing the gender pay gap. Goldin suggests that those industries' team-based approaches may facilitate greater job flexibility and, therefore, allow for more women to realize their earnings potentials.