Why We Should Be More Like Our Pharmacist

Asked what makes something female-friendly, Ellen DeGeneres (hilariously) talks about pink pens:

Actually though, the answer is flexibility and substitutability.

Female Friendly Occupations

Whether it’s children, grandma, or another family member, in American culture, the woman has traditionally been the caregiver and needed time flexibility at work. According to 2023 Nobel Economics Prize winner Claudia Goldin, that need for a less rigid work schedule helps to explain the gender pay gap. Because women have had to be available for caregiving, they’ve chosen different (lower paying) professions from men and have been paid less in male-dominated occupations. They’ve had to avoid “time-greedy” occupations that require an instant response, evening availability, and weekend hours. Meanwhile, as the “home team,” wives helped husbands ascend in time-greedy professions.

The pharmacist is one exception.

The gender pay gap among pharmacists has almost disappeared. During the 1970s when drug stores were small and owner-operated, men, available 24/7, earned more than women. Now though, with the emergence of the chain store, the job has become standardized, As a result, the difference between what a male and a female earn per hour is almost or entirely equal.

We could say that the reason is substitutability. The proliferation of technology that facilitated standardization and eliminated the need for a personal relationship with customers meant one pharmacist could easily replace another. Unlike the law or medicine or other high paying professions, the job’s requisites enable a substitutability. Consequently, being a part-time pharmacist generates almost no hourly wage penalty.

Our Bottom Line: The Gender Pay Gap

Published during March 2023, Pew Research gave us the gift of recent data.

Their big idea is the slow pace of progress. While women enjoyed a pop in income averages during the 1980s and 1990s, more recently, progress stalled:

The averages though obscure more complexity. Age matters when we see the pay gap widens most sharply for women, ages 35 to 44. Between women with and without children, and also comparing mothers with fathers, younger mothers suffer from the gap:

Still, we can ask why the gender wage gap persists. (We’ve even noted that female Uber workers drive more slowly than men.) Tomorrow, in a third look, we will consider some new research surprises.

My sources and more: Thanks to Vox for reminding me there is more to share about Claudia Goldin. Meanwhile, The Washington Post, conveyed its lens. Then, for more on the gender wage gap, do take a look at Narrow The Gap and this recent Pew Research.

Please note that several of today’s sentences were in a past econlife post.