Career Coach: Five great career books to read in 2006 (Plus my own)
By Marty Nemko
January 4, 2006
Excerpts…
Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap and What Women Can Do About it, by Warren Farrell
Most people believe that women earn 75 or 80 cents for every dollar a man earns. This book asserts that it’s a myth. Farrell cites abundant evidence, from sources such as the U.S. Census and the Department of Labor, that shows that for the same work, in most fields, women earn as much as men do or more. He concludes that the main reason women earn less is that they choose to trade money for quality of life. Women tend to choose jobs that are not physically dangerous, are close to home, don’t require 50-plus-hour workweeks, offer autonomy and fulfillment, and don’t require extensive travel—all of which are factors that lead to less pay. For women who want to earn a lot of money, he lists 25 things they can do to close the pay gap. Male readers might get something from this book, too. For one thing, it provides ammunition to counter the assertion that “it’s still a man’s world.”