Are you a female entrepeneur? You may be earning less than males

Do you own a business or independent worker? You may be earning less than male entrepreneurs who perform in your field

Recent research shows that women who work independently also receive less income than men. According to the company J. Thelander Consulting, an average female entrepreneur pays herself an annual salary of $ 179,444, while a man pays $ 232,659 a year.

Leer en español: ¿Por qué las emprendedoras mujeres se pagan menos a sí mismas que los hombres?

The online accounting firm FreshBooks revealed that, on average, women entrepreneurs earn or pay 28% less than their male counterparts. The study was conducted among more than 2,700 American workers, both employed and independent.

Although the number of women who start a business in low-wage occupations (such as housecleaning or childcare) is greater than the number of men who work in the same professions, the study showed that the income gap persists even when it comes to positions of the same level and in the same labor field.

70% of independent women entrepreneurs says that they decided to work on their own instead of being employed because they had to face discrimination and gender inequality in their previous jobs, and at least 52% said that it would not have been possible for them to have a satisfactory work development if they continued working for someone else.

Read also: Gender equality: lessons to be learned from Iceland

This translates the wage gap IGNORE INTO entrepreneurship

This shows that women who decide to work on their own because they have to live the gender gap in the labor field and are aware that this gap holds them back professionally. But despite that, working independently cannot pay as well as the men who work in the same field.

The main reason for this event is that the same gender discrimination causes clients to pay less for women. The fifth part of the surveyed workers affirmed that they should charge less than their male colleagues to attract clients.

Also, 30% said that clients trust more in a man's work than in that of a woman, and 20% said they have to work harder than men in the same field since many assume that women work less because they are more devoted to family life. Therefore, it is undeniable that the gender wage gap exists in both payment to employees and in independent work, but despite that, 78% of women entrepreneurs say they are happier working on their own than as employees. More than 90% say that they decided to work that way by their own choice and also affirm that they have no intention of going back to work for an employer again.

While the way to end the gender gap at work still seems long, women entrepreneurs have an advantage. They can manage their own salary and have more tools to oppose discrimination and inequality, as well as the possibility of demonstrating that the payment for their work must be proportional to their abilities and experience.

LatinAmerican Post | María Fernanda Barinas Ortiz

Translated from: '¿Por qué las emprendedoras mujeres se pagan menos a sí mismas que los hombres?'

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