Recognizing the Importance of Women’s Autonomy in Building Their Career Success
On Oct. 9, Claudia Goldin, a Harvard University Henry Lee Professor of Economics, received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for her contributions to the understanding of the role of women in the labor market. Goldin’s research has to do with the process of closing the gender pay gap throughout history, and how women's role in the workforce has largely been influenced by societal norms and women’s own perception on their career outcomes and their responsibilities at home. In 2002, Goldin and her colleague Lawrence F. Katz published an article titled “The Power of the Pill: Oral Contraceptives and Women’s Career and Marriage Decisions,” which examined the role of oral contraception in shaping women’s participation in the workforce, which in turn has affected the gender pay gap.
The birth control pill, more commonly known as “the pill,” was approved by the United States Federal Drug Administration in 1960. According to Planned Parenthood, within five years of that date, one out of every four married women in the country under the age of 45 had used the pill. The impact of the pill went beyond allowing women to make a decision for themselves about when and whether to have children, but it also influenced their educational and career outcomes. Previously, when a woman became pregnant, she was often unable to work and instead took on the role of motherhood and domestic responsibilities. However, with the pill, women were suddenly able to focus on getting an education and their career paths before deciding whether to get married or have children. This has not only impacted women’s participation in the workforce, but it has also influenced pay disparities among genders.
According to a study in the National Library of Medicine titled “The Opt-In Revolution? Contraception and the Gender Gap in Wages,” in 1979 the median annual wage and salary earnings for women was 60 percent of men’s earnings, but in 1989, this rose to 69 percent. The reason for the convergence of this gap in the study is cited from some of Golden’s own research. Women born in the 1950s (who came of age in the 1970s) narrowed the gender gap in attending and graduating from college, earning professional degrees, and employment in fields beyond what society had typically expected from them. These outcomes are largely attributed to the distribution of the pill to younger women during this era due to legislation that allowed women between the ages of 18 and 20 to have access to it. This access to the pill would enable women to gain experience in the workforce during the 1970s, an experience which they would benefit from in their careers during the 1980s when wages began to increase. Ultimately, this experience led more women to work full-time. This consequently enabled them to move into higher paying jobs, which increased women’s wages relative to men’s.
Another factor worth considering is that women have begun outnumbering men in college completion. According to a study by Pew Research Center, 46 percent of women ages 25 to 34 have a bachelor’s degree compared to 46 percent of men. There has also been research on the relationship between women getting college degrees and as a result being able to get into higher-paying jobs, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The increased participation of women in college over the past couple of decades can also be attributed to the invention and distribution of the pill.
Ultimately, the gender pay gap continues to exist today, but it is important to recognize the factors that have played a role in the increase of women’s success in the workforce. It is also worth noting the contributions of Goldin and the implications of her research in closing pay inequality between men and women. By understanding the importance of women’s autonomy in their lives and careers, society can create space for women to thrive in the workforce.
