avatarOlivia Love

Summary

The article discusses the challenges faced by women in the freelance industry due to the gender pay gap and the perception of women as less serious professionals compared to men.

Abstract

The author, a female freelancer, shares her personal experiences and observations in the health coaching business, noting that men tend to undervalue women's time and professionalism. She references studies that suggest women are risk-averse, but points out that these studies have been disproven. The author highlights the gender pay gap in the freelance industry, where women earn 82% of what their male counterparts make. She emphasizes that women are more accommodating than men, often accepting lower rates even if they are more qualified. The author also points out that invoicing under a woman's name increases the likelihood of late payment. She urges readers to support both men and women, be conscious of their interactions, and work towards raising the bar.

Opinions

  • Men tend to devalue women's time and professionalism.
  • The perception that women are risk-averse has been disproven.
  • The gender pay gap is more significant in the freelance industry.
  • Women are more accommodating than men and often accept lower rates.
  • Invoicing under a woman's name increases the likelihood of late payment.
  • There is a need to support both men and women and be conscious of interactions with them.

Are Men Averse to Paying Women?

We know the gender pay-gap is real, but the phenomena of women earning less than men is even more insidious.

Photo by CoWomen via Pexels.com

In my launching of my health coaching business, there are a few things I’ve noticed.

  • Many men seek out physical healing modalities when that is not a service I am advertising or offering as a health coach. So dealing with men consistently trying to cross my boundaries and who disrespect me and my offerings right off the bat is an unfortunate reality that I and many women face.
  • Many men try to negotiate prices with me or offer to barter something in return.
  • When I tell a man my hourly rate, he often ghosts me or replies with a simple, “oh ok.”

Men simply don’t tend to take women as serious professionals in the same manner that they regard other men, at least in my own personal experience. A man is far more likely than a woman to try to cross a boundary as a potential client, and to de-value a woman’s time.

Interestingly, when I conducted a search online on the gender pay gap between men and women, one of the top reasons that came up for this pay gap was the finding that women tend to be more risk-averse than men.

However, according to an article in Forbes, “Women Aren’t Risk-Averse, They Just Face Consequences When They Take Risks,” the research that women are risk-averse has been disproven. The studies historically have studied women’s aversiveness to more typically masculine activities like riding a motorcycle without a helmet on. The author pointedly emphasizes the far greater riskiness of pregnancy and childbirth and quips that, indeed, if women were truly risk-averse, the future of humanity would be in question.

Well, the future of humanity is in question, but for different reasons, because of questions of women’s autonomy, the fact of guns currently having more rights than women over our reproductive systems, the lingering specters of climate change, the ongoing public health emergency of covid, physical and mental health crises, and so on.

The future of humanity is in question because women are automatically construed as more masculine when we make demands, when we have ambition, when we assert ourselves, or when we advocate on our own behalf for higher pay. (And yet we are expected to work just the same and not given affordable childcare support for the first few years of parenting.)

You’ve likely heard the statistic that women make somewhere between 77 cents to 82 cents on the dollar for every dollar a man makes. Yet, if you look at the freelance industries, the gender pay gap is even greater. A report from Payoneer that conducted a global study on freelancing trends found the following: “Despite the increased representation and higher rates of education among women, the gender pay gap persists, and has even widened slightly since our 2020 Global Freelancer Income Report. Women are making 82% of what their male counterparts make, at $23/hour on average compared to men’s $28/hour” (Payoneer, 2022).

You can blame women shouldering more caregiving responsibilities than men, but this surely can be only part of the explanation. Perhaps it is promising that more women are taking part in the freelancer economy, but the pay gap remains problematic.

The arguments have been made that women are more accommodating than men — and are expected to be more accommodating. Women are more likely to accept lower rates than their male counterparts, even if the women may be more qualified and have a higher level of skill at the job. While it seems reasonable to suggest that women need to advocate for ourselves and ask for rates comparable to those their male counterparts charge, the reality remains that many clients still aim to lower their costs and expect women to be more accommodating with their rates.

Even more disturbing is the finding, quoted in Fast Company, by the CEO of Bonsai (a payment services platform) that “invoicing under a typical woman’s name increased the likelihood of late payment by 7%” (Lindzon, 2018). Again, the conclusion here is that likely a client feels more able to take advantage of a woman.

So as a female freelancer, I’d like to remind everyone to support both men and women. Work on actively being conscious of how you interact with content, services, and goods provided by both men and women. Tip generously.

Let’s continue to work to raise the bar.

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References:

Elsesser, Kim. (April 29, 2022). “Women Aren’t Risk-Averse, They Just Face Consequences When They Take Risks.” Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2022/04/29/women-arent-risk-averse-they-just-face-consequences-when-they-take-risks/?sh=4791a28f5a3f

Leech, Marie. (January 31, 2022). “Freelancers Gain in Pandemic, But Women Don’t Catch Up on Pay Gap.” BizWomen. Retrieved from https://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2022/01/freelancers-pandemic-women-pay-gap.html?page=all

Lindzon, Jared. (May 24, 2018). “Working while female: Why the gender pay gap is persistent for females too.” FastCompany. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/40573469/why-the-gender-wage-gap-is-persistent-for-freelancers-too

Payoneer. (2022). “2022 Global Income Freelancer Report: The Ongoing Rise of the Freelance Revolution.” Retrieved from https://pubs.payoneer.com/docs/freelancer-income-report-2022-en.pdf

Freelancing
Gender Pay Gap
Freelancers
Give Your Money To Women
Work
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