Where Women’s Pay Trumps Men’s Men work more than women on the job, at least in terms of overall hours. That’s just one reason why in most fields, men’s earnings exceed women’s earnings. But Warren Farrell found 39 occupations in which women’s median earnings exceeded men’s earnings by at least 5 percent and in some cases by as much as 43 percent. In fields like engineering, a company may get one woman and seven men applying for a job. If the company wants to hire the woman, it might have to pay a premium to get her. Also, where women can combine technical expertise with people skills—such as those required in sales and where customers prefer dealing with a woman—that’s likely to contribute to a premium in pay.

Source: CNN, March 2, 2006

a. Draw a graph to illustrate why discrimination could result in female workers getting paid more than male workers for some jobs.

b. Explain how market competition could potentially eliminate this wage differential.

c. If customers “prefer dealing with a woman” in some markets, how might that lead to a persistent wage differential between men and women?