Low Levels of Self-Efficacy
Low Levels of Self-Confidence
One of the main reasons the wage gap in STEM is believed to exist is due to women’s lower levels of self-efficacy compared to men. Self-efficacy is defined as one’s belief in themselves to be able to accomplish any given task, similar to self-confidence. A study was conducted to determine the role that self-efficacy plays in the pay gap between men and women; this was done by utilizing a longitudinal study amongst 559 engineering and computer science students that had graduated between 2015 and 2017. [1] In order to do this, researchers measured self-efficacy by administering various surveys, which asked deep, personal questions about the students’ self-confidence while they were still in college and then again once they entered the workforce. The observational study found that women on average had lower levels of self-efficacy compared to their male counterparts both while they were still in school and then also once they had started working in their respective fields. [2] Having these lower levels of self-confidence can lead to poorer performance at work, and in interviews as well, which leads to lower salary offers.
Additionally, according to the Stanford Graduate School of Business, who utilized the same longitudinal study with the 559 engineering and computer science students, candidates who present a high level of self-efficacy by remaining calm and self-assured during interviews tend to persuade employers that they would be successful within the field. [3] Most of the women’s answers to questions presented in the surveys about their capabilities led researchers to believe that at least two percent of the pay gap between men and women could be explained through self-confidence. Additionally, researchers looked back at a report from 2007 by the U.S. Department of Education wherein the data highlights how girls’ confidence in STEM fields like math and science quickly deteriorates at a young age as they hold themselves to higher standards and are more critical of themselves than boys are. [4] Girls holding themselves to this higher standard and being very critical of themselves allows them to develop lower confidence levels which employers do not typically find in men. This also significantly contributes to the wage gap.
The Confidence Gap Predicts the Gender Pay Gap among STEM Graduates
Finally, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges, most women typically accept the first offer they are giving regarding their prospective salary whereas men typically tend to negotiate salaries. Katherine M. Sharkey, MD, PhD, who is also the assistant dean at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University states, “There are so many of us, myself included, that look back to our first positions and think ‘I should have negotiated better.’” [5] A lack of self-assurance or confidence in oneself leads to some women not self-promoting or negotiating for themselves. This leads to men earning higher starting salaries than women going into the field and allows for a pay gap to occur.
Footnotes:
[1] Sterling, Adina D., Marissa E. Thompson, Shiya Wang, Abisola Kusimo, Shannon Gilmartin, and Sheri Sheppard. "The Confidence Gap Predicts the Gender Pay Gap among STEM Graduates." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 117, no. 48 (Dec 01, 2020): 30303. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2010269117. http://mutex.gmu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/confidence-gap-predicts-gender-pay-among-stem/docview/2471031291/se-2?accountid=14541.
[2] Sterling, The Confidence Gap Predicts the Gender Pay Gap among STEM Graduates.
[3] Stanford Graduate School of Business. “What’s Behind the Pay Gap in STEM Jobs?” Accessed November 4, 2021. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/whats-behind-pay-gap-stem-jobs.
[4] Stanford, What’s Behind the Pay Gap in STEM Jobs?
[5] Association of American Medical Colleges. “Closing the Gender Pay Gap in Medicine.” Accessed November 4, 2021. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/closing-gender-pay-gap-medicine.