Myth-busting. As readers of this [website,] you probably—hopefully!—understand what pay inequity is and at least some of the things that factor into it. Unfortunately, one in three Americans still aren't aware of the gender pay gap, according to new research conducted by Lean In and SurveyMonkey. So, in honor of Equal Pay Day—which we "celebrate" today because it's the day through which the average U.S. woman would have to work in 2018 to earn what the average U.S. man did in 2017—Kristen busts five of the most common myths about the pay gap.

1. There's no such thing! While 37% of men apparently don't think the gender pay gap is real, the government—and numerous non-partisan research groups—disagree. Depending on how it's measured and who's doing the measuring, the gap is between 18% and 20%.

2. Women are just paid less because they're less experienced. Experience alone can't explain it away. Consider the Hired survey we noted the other week: It found that the pay gap for women in technology actually grows as they gain more experience.

3. Okay, fine. Then they must be less educated. In reality, women are dominating when it comes to education, outpacing men when it comes to every type of advanced degree. Yet research shows that, in order to earn as much a man, we have to earn an entire additional degree.

4. So I guess women just don't ask for raises. It's true that, in general, women are less likely to ask for a pay bump than our male colleagues. However, there's evidence that we're also less likely to get one—even when we do make the ask.

5. Maybe women just pick the wrong type of jobs. Sure, job type and industry is a factor—though it would be naive to think that there are no systematic issues in play when it comes to what fields women end up in. Still, even when you factor in job type, education, and experience, there remains about 33% of the gender wage that remains "unexplained." That's where bias—as well as factors like caretaking responsibilities—come in.

Finally—just a reminder. Today marks Equal Pay Day for the average American woman. It's an important day to observe, but let's not lose track of the fact that Black Women's Equal Pay Day isn't until August 20, and Latinas must wait until November 1. Fortune

This is from Broadsheet, April 10, 2018

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April 10, 2018