What is gender pay gap and common explanations?

• A. The gap is the earnings difference between men and women; explanations include occupational segregation, discrimination, and time out of the workforce.
• B. The gap is the difference in promotion rates between men and women.
• C. The gap is the difference in salary within a single company only.
• D. The gap is only about bonuses.

Answer: (B)

The gender pay gap is the difference in earnings between men and women across the labor market. It’s usually described by comparing median earnings for full‑time workers and expressing the gap as a percentage of men’s earnings. This framing captures how much women earn, on average, relative to men, across many industries and roles.

Common explanations include occupational segregation (women and men concentrated in different kinds of jobs that pay differently), discrimination (unexplained pay differences after accounting for factors like experience and education), and time out of the workforce or reduced hours due to caregiving responsibilities, which affects accumulating experience and advancing pay. Other related factors—such as the motherhood penalty, differences in negotiated salaries, and unequal access to promotion or leadership roles—also help explain why the gap persists.

The other options describe narrower issues: promotions, pay differences within a single company, or emphasis on bonuses. While related, they don’t account for the broader, systemic earnings disparity across the entire labor market.