Data compiled by the Department of Education on college graduates who received federal student aid shows that a substantial gap in pay between the sexes emerged within three years of graduation. The study, based on 11,300 undergraduates from 2,000 different universities, revealed a disparity even from individuals graduating from the same university with similar grades in the same undergraduate discipline.
Some of the results from the study show that…
– Men receiving accounting degrees from Georgetown University earned $155K annually, three years after graduation. This was 55% more than their female counterparts.
– Men receiving law degrees from the University of Michigan earned $165K annually, while their female counterparts earned only $120K.
I could continue, but you get the gist. Other national studies have shown that women earn 82.3 cents on the dollar from their male counterparts throughout their career..
Let me leave you with this.
When I read this study earlier this week, I was incensed. The concept of this still being the norm in our country in 2022 is beyond the point of ignorance.
The idea that a woman’s contribution to a company is less valuable than a man’s is simply wrong, on any level. I’ll admit that I speak from a particular viewpoint, given the fact that I’m the only guy who works at any of my companies.
I’m proud of the ladies who’ve joined our organization. They’re strong, know how to put in a day, and mother my clients as if they were their own children. They come in everyday wanting to do the best work of their careers.
Being surrounded by intelligent, hard-working women is not a new thing for me, given that I’m one-third Native. My mother, who was mostly Cherokee and Apache, was an influential Chicago entrepreneur for 45 years.
She was tough-as-nails, and didn’t put up with any guff for any one, let alone a man who thought he was better, simply because of his sex. One day I asked, “What do you do when someone doesn’t want to do business with you because you’re a woman?”
Her answer was simplicity itself.
Mama said, “What am I going to do? Yell and scream at a moron for being stupid? Once I’m done yelling they’re still going to be an idiot. It’s not worth the time or the effort. Chicago’s a big town. I simply find someone else who wants to buy my product.”
This was her answer for sexism, racism, and anything else that got in her way. She just dug in and got it done, no matter what obstacles presented themselves.
I never thought that 31 years after founding these businesses, I would own enterprises populated exclusively by women. But that’s just how it evolved.
Early in my career, I realized that the backbone of the Accounting and Tax Industry wasn’t the CPA’s at the top. The foundation is the bookkeeper.
Other firms put them in positions that are stagnant, dead-end jobs. I realized their potential, gave them additional opportunities, and invested in their future. As they’ve grown in education and skills, so has my firm’s ability to serve its clients.
It’s only because of them that we are the organization we are today. I couldn’t possibly be more proud of them, or their on-going contributions to my clients and their families.
Accounting Solutions is the organization it is today because of them.
I would encourage all of you to be part of the solution rather than the problem. When you see talent, skill, and ambition, do whatever you can to foster it, no matter the person’s sex.
Those investments will pay dividends.
And don’t be afraid to pay a person what they’re worth. It’s simply the right thing to do.
We’re all going to get through this. Let’s get through it together.
*Words from our exceptional leadership
