So a woman who has worked for our NPO for a few years walked up to me last week and asked why the men there made more money than her. She'd been with us the same amount of time, she'd never been written-up, and she was angry that she made less money. So in earnest I said I'd look into it, and I did, wanting to make sure there was no wage inequality going on. She was right, there was some inequality going on and I promptly raised the wages of the men in question.
See, to be full-time in our office a person must work a minimum of 34 hours /wk. The woman who was complaining always worked 34-35 hours each week, never more, never less. The men, however, both worked 45 hour weeks, not only maxing out their 40 hour regular pay cap, but also working the 5 hours of overtime they're allowed to work (everyone can work up to 45 hours, if they want to make some extra money). The guys did this
every. single. week. Also, their productivity was higher, roughly proportional to the amount of extra hours they were putting in, while each of the men were making ~$1
less /hour than the women they work with.
The only thing I can figure is she'd seen one of the men's pay vouchers, looked at the final total, and then assumed that she was being cheated. Because when she cornered me 2 days later and I politely explained, in detail, what had been going on, she became rather upset:
"That's not fair! Why are they allowed to work overtime?" (It's been explained to
everyone at the office that they can all work 45 hours, during numerous meetings. She'd even signed a paper stating she understood this. (No, she doesn't remember signing the paper, just 10 months ago.))
"I do more work in my 35 hours than they do in 45!" (A patently false statement.)
"They aren't really working 45 hours!" (How would she know, seeing as how, according to the time sheets, she leaves the office before they do, every day? They even come in on some Saturdays, she doesn't.)
"I'm a single mom, I deserve more!" (One of the men is a single dad, he doesn't?)
"This is exactly what they're talking about when they're highlighting the Gender Wage Gap!" (Ironically, I do believe she's right. She refuses to grasp logic, too.)