Insights
Korn Ferry: For Working Couples, Income Isn't Everything
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Korn Ferry Institute, Evelyn Orr, has published a piece looking at biases and pay gaps between men and women and how these can factor into decision-making for dual-income families. When a working couple has children, the idea of one parent staying home and quitting their job is often discussed. Orr says that while the question of which parent should stop working often comes down to who makes the least, basing the decision off of this is not always the right answer. And, in the cases of male and female couples, this solution is not always fair.
Orr points out the pay gaps and trends that lean toward men in professions that are higher-earning, also citing that as positions rise to the management, executive, and CEO levels, women are severely underrepresented. As the professions and earning potential for women are devalued from the beginning, making the family decision of who should stay at home with the kids based solely off income puts women at an immediate disadvantage.
Notable facts from the article include:
- On average, men make 18% more than women.
- Of the Fortune 500 companies, 94% of CEOs are men, while only 6% are women.
- In marriages where both partners work, 29% of American women earn more than their husbands.