International | Men, women and work

The gender pay gap

Women still earn a lot less than men, despite decades of equal-pay laws. Why?

“I ALWAYS wanted to be a mum,” says Meghan, a British woman with two children. She wanted a career, too, and worked hard for it, earning a degree in economics and accounting, and taking professional exams. At a big accounting firm in London, she managed junior employees. When her daughter was born she faced a choice between her career and being the mother she wanted to be. After her boss refused her a flexible work schedule, she quit. Six years later she is a childminder, earning a fraction of her former salary. Now divorced, she says that a professional role in accountancy would have been financially better for her family. But finding one with hours that worked for a single parent seemed impossible.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “The gender gap”

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