Women going into labor everywhere

Not the about-to-have-a-baby labor, the going-to-work labor. But who knows? Maybe by the end of the post I will be talking about women who work and have babies. This weekend, even away from school, contemplating the fantasticness of life as we looked out at the lake, I couldn’t help but recall a certain interview. Last fall, I had a professor not-so-subtly ask about my commitment to a program that would suck away a huge chunk of my childbearing years. He was out of line, but still. It gets you thinking.

Women are not men. Sit in on a scientific conference and you will see what I mean. The women giving talks often respond to audience questions with “maybe” and “perhaps” even when they have solid data to back up their claims. I hear far more men answering questions with bold, clear voices. I’d venture a guess that men are more likely to “elaborate” (or just make stuff up) to prove their point, but I have no data on that.

I am not particularly shy (I mean, I’m writing a blog, for cryin’ out loud), but I definitely fall prey to some of the more subtle expectations that society has of women. I went through the sparkly eyeshadow phase, the cheerleader phase, and the white-wine-only phase, but I’m not convinced I really enjoyed all of it. Let’s get it out in the open: I like doing calculus, I love being barefoot in deep mud, and I like drinking beer straight from the bottle. I’m still young and I’m still female, though, and there is a lot that comes with that – a lot that is not necessarily advantageous.

Certain “feminine” tendencies are a disadvantage in the workplace. Period. In medical practice and research, this manifests itself in a million (+/- 47) ways, but two of the most obvious are that women are (1) less likely to ask for a pay raise in the clinic and (2) less likely to appear confident during presentations related to research grant applications. So is it partly our fault? Do women just need to ask for more?

Medicine is decidedly not meritocratic. Let’s use an example I have no personal stake in whatsoever: the female physician-scientist. Yes, I will give you that female doctors tend to choose lower-paying specialties, have fewer publications, hold fewer administrative leadership positions, and work fewer hours. However, even if you adjust for all of these differences, the expected average salary for women is still more than $10,000 less than that of men. This is the difference due ONLY to gender, and so of course when you factor back in all of those other things the gap is quite large indeed. But let’s stick with the gender issue. Calculated out to approximate a thirty-year career, the income difference from sex alone is more than $350,000.

Studies have pointed out discrepancies between the salaries of male and female doctors for years, but people (read: men) have tried to put these off as due to personal choices. For instance, there are more male surgeons, more men who work long hours, blah blah blah. As it turns out, it goes a lot deeper than that. Men and women working in the same specialty with the same schedule and skill level are still not compensated equally. It’s sad, but unsurprising.

“We really didn’t expect to find such a substantial unexplained difference,” said Dr. Reshma Jagsi, lead author and an associate professor of radiation oncology at the University of Michigan. “In Michigan, that amount buys you a house, your kids’ education or a nice nest egg for retirement.”

It gets worse.

“The men and women we studied were the go-getters,” Dr. Jagsi said. “You have to worry that if you see such disparities among this group, you will see at least the same, if not more, differences among other groups of physicians.”

The point is not that we need jump up and address salary disparities (though perhaps we do) but rather that we should think more about the subconscious assumptions and stereotypes we all have. I include myself in this, of course, and we shouldn’t get carried away. I think it is important to note that certain stereotypes are there for a reason and that there are things that men genuinely do better; I have no problem with that. Obviously it’s all individual and I could easily name a woman who is a great navigator, a man who is a great cook, a woman who is insanely aggressive, a man who is very sensitive, a woman who likes hunting, and a man who likes knitting. There are many things I find myself doing where I can’t decide whether they’re personality things or female things or both or neither. (Am I really that terrified of forgetting to pay people back? Was that taught by my family? Did I just pick up that habit in Switzerland? And now I’m always afraid of leaving a bad impression? Or taking advantage of people?)

Maybe what I’m trying to get at is the fact that in our personal lives we figure these things out – or at least try. For instance, in most families, you see a fairly clear division of labor in a marriage when rearing children; it is not so important who cooks and who cleans and who drives the carpool, so long as it all gets done. Yet, somehow, we don’t seem to have found a parallel in the work force. Men just have some natural tendencies (note that I do not use the word “skills”) that are valued in our American workforce. I’m not saying that’s all bad. Maybe sometimes it “takes a man” to go ahead with something without everyone’s opinion. Maybe those types keep us running efficiently. I wonder, though. I have my doubts.

I could keep going – I really could – but I’m pretty sure there has already been plenty of talk this year about females as CEOs, reproductive rights, etc. etc. etc. Don’t worry. I’m fully prepared to mock myself and other fellow part-time feminists. Any and all comments and responses are welcome.