艱難抉擇：時(shí)間與職業(yè)選擇如何形成性別薪酬差距+Tough+Trade-offs+How+Time+and+Career+Choices+Shape+the+Gender+Pay+Gap

Mcsey

GlobalInstitute

Toughtrade-offs:How

timeandcareerchoices

shapethegenderpaygap

Nearly80percentoftheUSgenderpaygapisdrivenbywomenhaving

flatterworkexperiencearcscomparedwithmen,basedonananalysisof

86,000real-lifeonlinecareerhistories.

byAnuMadgavkar,KweilinEllingrud,SvenSmit,ChrisBradley,OliviaWhite,andKanmaniChockalingam

February2025

Ataglance

—Divergingworkexperiencepatternsdrivea“work-experiencepaygap”thatmakesupnearly80percentofthetotalgenderpaygap,equalto27centsonthedollaramongUSprofessionalworkers.Womentendtobuildlesshumancapitalthroughworkexperiencethanmenwhostartinthesameoccupations,asseeninthetensofthousandsofcareertrajectoriesweanalyze.Overa30-yearcareer,thegenderpaygapaveragesouttoapproximatelyhalfamilliondollarsinlostearningsperwoman.

—One-thirdofthatwork-experiencepaygapisbecausewomenaccumulatelesstimeonthejobthan

men.Womenaverage8.6yearsatworkforeverytenyearsclockedbymenbecause,onaggregate,theyworkfewerhours,takelongerbreaksbetweenjobs,andoccupymorepart-timerolesthanmen.

—Theothertwo-thirdsarisefromdifferentcareerpathwaysthatmenandwomenpursueovertime.

Women’scareersareasdynamicasmen’s:Bothmenandwomenaveraged2.6rolemovesperdecadeofworkandtraversedcomparableskilldistancesineachnewrole.However,womenaremorelikelythanmentoswitchtolower-payingoccupations,typicallyonesinvolvinglesscompetitivepressuresandfewer

full-timerequirements.

—Aswomenswitchjobs,theyarelesslikelytomoveintooccupationsprojectedtogrowindemand,

insteadoftenmovingintoshrinkingoccupations.Shouldcurrentoccupationalpathwayspersist,by

2030,morethanthree-quartersofworkingmenwouldbeinoccupationsprojectedtogrowrelativetotoday,comparedwithlessthantwo-thirdsofwomen.Theoverallgenderpaygapcouldremainatcurrentlevels.

—Someemployersenablegreatermovementintogrowingoccupationsforallworkerswhilereducingthegenderpaygap,evenadjustingfortheindustrymix.These“People+PerformanceWinners”excelinbothfinancialperformanceandbuildinghumancapital.Theystandoutforrotatingpeopleinternally,focusingon

coaching,andfosteringaculturethatchallengesemployeeswhileempoweringthem.

Whethersortingpackagesinthemailroom,codinginPython,ortendingtopatients,everyonestarts

theircareersomewhere.Yetinmostindustries,

afirstjobismerelyanentrypoint.Whathappensoverthecourseofacareeriscrucialtobuildinganindividual’shumancapital.

Humancapitalisformallydefinedasthe

knowledge,skills,competencies,andattributes

thatindividualspossess

.1

Itsaccumulationbeginsinchildhoodandcontinuesthroughouteducationalstagesandworkinglife.Thevalueofhumancapitalisrealizedwhenpeopleputittowork—thatis,by

gainingworkexperience—andpayisanimportantsignalofthatvalue.(Termsprintedinitalicsare

definedintheglossary.)

Workexperience,pay,andhumancapitalitselfarelinkedincomplicatedways,andthethreadsare

hardtounravel.Oneworkermayenjoypayhikesasshemovesfromoneroletoanotherandacquires

additionalskills,apatternofworkexperiencethat

enhancesbothherhumancapitalandthewayitis

valuedthroughherpay.Butanotherworkermayseeherhumancapitalerodingovertimeasherskillsgounusedinalower-payingrolethatdoesn’trequire

them.Inthiscase,bothhumancapitalanditsvaluediminish.Meanwhile,twoworkerswhostartedoutpossessingsimilarskillsmaygoontoearndifferinglevelsofpaywhentheyswitchintoroleswith

varyingorganizationalandindustrycharacteristics,indicatingthatthesamehumancapitalisvalued

differentlyinthetwojobs.

Overall,however,workexperienceisvitalto

bothindividualsandeconomies.Forindividuals,

workexperienceunderpinsnearlyhalfoflifetime

earnings.Foreconomies,workexperiencereflectshoweffectivelyhumancapitalismatchedwith

employers’needstoraiseproductivity.Inthis

context,comparingtheworkexperiencetrajectoriesofmenandwomenassumesitsimportance.

Toughtrade-offs:Howtimeandcareerchoicesshapethegenderpaygap2

Toughtrade-offs:Howtimeandcareerchoicesshapethegenderpaygap3

Womenhavenarrowedandevenreversedthe

gendergapineducationintheUnitedStates.

2

Yetonly58.7percentofwomenparticipateinthelaborforce,comparedwith70.2percentofmen.

3

Andwhatwomenandmendoatworkdiverges

significantlyovertime.Ourresearchfindsthat

thatdivergence,overadecadeormoreofwork,

drivesalmost80percentofthegenderpaygap

of27centsonthedollar—whatwecallthe“work-

experiencepaygap.”(SeeBox1,“Definitionsofthegenderpaygapvary.”)

Toarriveatthisconclusion,weanalyzedhow

menandwomengoaboutaccumulatingwork

experience—switchingjobs,returningafterbreaks,climbingthecorporateladder,makinglateralmoves,downshifting,andmore—andhowtheyrealizethe

valueofhumancapitaldifferently(intermsofpay)

.4

Thisprivileged,close-upviewispossiblebecauseweuseadatasetofsome86,000de-identified

onlinecareerhistoriesofrealpeopleinthe

Americanworkforce.Ourdatasetisoverweightedwithwhite-collar,higher-payingjobsbecause

peoplewithpublic-facing,onlineworkhistories

aremorelikelythanthegeneralpopulationtoholdthem—andtheyareofparticularinteresttotalent-scoutingemployers.

Thisresearchfocusesontheextent,nature,andimpactofdivergenceinworkexperiencepatternsanditseffectonthepaygapbetweenmenand

women.Whilegenderpaygapshavebeenwellstudiedbyotherresearchers,weaddtothe

discoursebydissectingthedynamicsofworkexperiencegainedovertime(Exhibit1).

Weemphasizethatwedonotdirectlyinvestigatethereasonsthattheydiverge.Womenandmen

mayintentionallychoosetopursuedifferentpathsforavarietyofreasonsrelatingtoopportunity

andpersonalagency,withcomplexunderlying

factorsthataredifficulttountangle.Forinstance,personalpreferencesmightleadwomenand

mentooptfordifferentkindsofwork,orthey

mayassignmeaningtotheirworkindifferent

ways.Atthesametime,notalldoorsmayremainopentoallworkersateverystageoflife.Asotherresearchhasexplored,womenmaybearmore

Box1

Definitionsofthegenderpaygapvary

Thegenderpaygapcanbemeasured

inmyriadways,varyingbythemetrics

usedorthegroupscompared.Themost

commonlycitedstatisticforthegender

paygapintheUnitedStatesindicates

thatwomenearn84centsforeverydollarmenearn.1However,thisfigureconsiders

onlyfull-timeworkersandmeasuresonly

annualmedianwages.Whenincluding

part-timeandseasonalworkersand

measuringeitherannualmedianwagesorhourlywages,largergaps,rangingfrom

17to22percent,aregenerallyobserved.2

Thegenderpaygapcanvarybyagecohort,andsomestudiesfindthatolderwomen

tendtoexperiencelargerpaygapsthanyoungerwomen.3

Inouranalysisofthegenderpaygap,we

takeamorecomprehensiveapproachthanmoststudiesbyincludingworkersofall

ages,bothparttimeandfulltime,aswell

asthoseinseasonalandnonseasonal

jobsacrosstheUnitedStates.Insteadof

focusingonhourlywagesormedianannualwages,weexaminemeanannualwages.

Weestimatethepaygaptobe27percent,observedinyeartenofanaveragecareerinourdataset(seeBox2,“Ourdata,

scope,andmethodology”fordetails

ofourdata,whichskewtowardhigher-

skillprofessionals).Interestingly,mean

earningsdatafortheentireUSworkforcerevealasimilarpaygap.4Ourchosen

approachallowsustoisolatetheeffectsofvariousdriversovertimetodeterminehowtheycontributetothepaygap,whichwe

exploreinthisarticle.Itisimportanttonotethatthe27percentgenderpaygapappliesonlytopeopleintheworkforce,and

womencurrentlyconstitute47percentof

thattotal.5Ifweaccountedforwomenwhowerenotworking,proportionatetotheir

shareoftheworking-agepopulation,the

incomegapobservedwouldbeevenlarger.

1“Equalpayday:March12,2024,”USCensusBureau,March2024.

2See,forexample,FrancineD.BlauandLawrenceM.Kahn,“Thegenderwagegap:Extent,trends,andexplanations,”JournalofEconomicLiterature,AmericanEconomicAssociation,volume55,number3,September2017;AndrewChamberlain,Progressonthegenderpaygap:2019,Glassdoor,March2019;WendyChun-Hoon,5fastfacts:Thegenderwagegap,USDepartmentofLabor,March2023;RakeshKochhar,Theenduringgripofthegenderpaygap,PewResearchCenter,March2023;EliseGould,JessicaSchieder,andKathleenGeier,Whatisthegenderpaygapandisitreal?,EconomicPolicyInstitute,October2016;andDeborahRho,“Whatcausesthewagegap?,”GenderPolicyReport,February2021.

3ErinGeorgeandGretchenLivingston,“Olderandwiser,butnotricher:Thegenderpaygapforolderworkers,”USDepartmentofLaborBlog,July1,2024.

4“Characteristicsofthegroupquarterspopulationbygroupquarterstype,”USCensusBureauTableS2602,accessedJanuary16,2025.

5“Civilianlaborforcebyage,sex,race,andethnicity,2003,2013,2023,andprojected2033,”USBureauofLaborStatisticsTable3.1,August2024.

Toughtrade-offs:Howtimeandcareerchoicesshapethegenderpaygap4

Exhibit1

Individualsfollowdiferentcareertrajectories,evenstartingfromthesamepoint.

Illustrativediagramoftwoworkers’careertrajectoriesover10years

Startingpoint

Bothworkersstartascustomerservice

Occupationaltrajectories

Eachworkerfollowsa

Within-occupationadvancements

Eachworkeradvances

representativesdiferentcareerpathwayintoamoreseniorrole

Incomequintiles

Advancement:Getspromotedtoforecastingandplanningmanager

Top

Occupationswitch:Pivotstoprojectcoordinator,acquiringskillsindataandscopemanagement

Second

Third

Advancement:Getspromotedto?rst-linesupervisor,acquiringmanagerialskills

Fourth

Bottom

Occupationswitch:Applies

skillstobecomeasalesperson

Year12345678910

Source:McKinseyGlobalInstituteanalysis

McKinsey&Company

responsibilityforcaregivingandhouseholdchores,whilemenmayshouldergreaterbreadwinning

responsibilities,whichcanrestrictcareerchoicesforboth.

5

Whetherornotthosetraditionalor

stereotypicalresponsibilitiesholdswaylies

outsidethescopeofthisarticle.(Fordetails,seeBox2,“Ourdata,scope,andmethodology.”)

Thegenderpaygaphighlightsdifferencesinhowmenandwomenrealizevaluefromtheirhuman

capital.Overa30-yearcareer,weestimate,

womenearnabout$500,000lessthanmen,

onaverage.

6

Thislossofpay—andproductivity,

byimplication—takesonparticularimportance

inthecontextoftightlabormarketsandfuture

demographicheadwinds,withfewerworkers

potentiallyneedingtosupportmoreretireesandfuelthenation’seconomicengine.AsautomationandAItransformthenatureofworkandtheskillsrequiredintheeconomy,optimaltalentutilizationisbecomingacriticalissue

.7

Toughtrade-offs:Howtimeandcareerchoicesshapethegenderpaygap5

Box2

Ourdata,scope,andmethodology

Datasources.Ourresearchuseslicensed,de-identifieddatafromUS-basedonline

publicprofessionalprofilestotrace

self-reportedemploymentstatuses

andjobchanges.Ourdatasetcontains

informationongender,education,job

title,employer,anddate,butitdoesnot

containinformationonindividuals’names,locationswithintheUnitedStates,race,

ethnicity,orotherpersonalcharacteristics.

Weselectedarandomizedsampleofone

millionmenandonemillionwomenthat

wasgenderidentifiedbasedonamachinelearningmodelthatpredictsgenderusing

names,birthyears,andnameorigin.From

thisdataset,weselectedasubsetof

individualswhodeclaredtheireducation,

changedrolesatleastonce,andhadat

leasttenyearsofworkexperiencefollowingtheirhighesteducationalattainment.This

winnowedthesampledownto50,529menand35,235womenforatotalof85,764

individualsintheUnitedStates.1Itexcludesthosewhomayhaveexitedtheworkforcealtogether.Thisselectionprocedureinandofitselfcouldresultinaskewedsample,

whichweexploreinmoredetailinthenextsection.Theseapproximately86,000

profilesincludeabout36,000unique

jobtitles,whichcanbemappedto705

occupationsclassifiedbytheUSBureau

ofLaborStatistics.Becausesectorsare

determinedatthecompanylevel,notethatindividualscanworkindifferentsectors

whileperformingthesameoccupation.

Weintegratetheseindividual-levelcareerprofiledatawithseveraloccupation-leveldatasetsfortheoverallUSworkforce,

includingwagesandwagedistribution

byoccupationfromtheUSBureauof

LaborStatistics,genderwagegapwithinoccupationsfromIPUMS(formerly

IntegratedPublicUseMicrodataSeries),workinghoursfromtheUSCensus

Bureau’sAmericanCommunitySurvey,andoccupationalcharacteristics(suchascompetitiveness,flexibility,physical

demands,andmore)fromtheOccupationalInformationNetwork(O*NET).Wealso

validateourfindingsonthedistribution

oftheworkforcebysenioritylevels(entrylevel,manager,topmanager,C-suite

position)againstMcKinsey’sWomenintheWorkplacesurvey.2

Scopeofdata.Oursamplereflectsonlineworkhistoriesandskewstowardmen

(59percentinthesample,compared

with53percentintheUSworkforce)andhigher-educatedworkersinhigher-payingoccupationssuchasmanagers,STEM

professionals,andbusinessandlegal

professionals(exhibit).Thesampleofmenissomewhatdifferentlyskewedcomparedwiththesampleofwomen,perhaps

reflectingwomen’slowerrepresentationinhigher-payingoccupationsand,

consequently,inonlineprofiles.

Wedidnotreweightoursampleto

mirrortheUSoccupationalmix,becausepredictingeachstageofanindividual’s

careerpathacrossvariousoccupations

wouldbeprohibitivelydifficult.Althoughthisapproachmeansourfindingsare

notrepresentativeoftheentireeconomy,itallowsustousereporteddatamore

directlyandminimizeassumptions.Eventhoughouranalysiscoversthefirstten

yearsofacareer,ourfindingsforthenexttenyearshavebeendirectionallysimilar.

Methodology.Inearlierresearchby

theMcKinseyGlobalInstitute(MGI),we

measuredthevalueofhumancapitalintermsoflifetimeearnings,whileinthisresearch,wefocusonannualwages.Forouranalysis,webuiltadatasetwithdetailsoneachworker

foreveryyearofworkexperience,alongwiththeircorrespondingrole,occupation,and

wage.Thisdatasetallowsustodistillinsightsonchangingroles,occupationaltrajectories,careerbreaks,paygaps,andmore.

Abouttwo-thirdsofworkersinoursample

startedtheircareersafter2000,withabouthalfenteringafter2005.Weuserealannual

wagesin2022asthebaseyearforaveragewagesinanyoccupationinthetenth

calendaryearofacareer,andthenapplythe2022genderwagegapbyoccupation.3Weusethisapproachbecausecareerpathwaypatternsaresimilarforwomenirrespectiveoftheirentryyearintotheworkforce,and

thesameholdstrueformen.

Tounderstanddifferencesincareer

trajectorypatternsbetweenmenand

women,wecategorizealloccupationsintoquintilesbasedontheiraveragewages

in2022.Wethentrackthemovementsof

individualsbetweenthesequintilesfrom

theoccupationtheybegantheircareers

intotheiroccupationatyearten,keepingthequintileclassificationoftheoccupationconstantthroughouttheentireperiod.

Toanalyzethedriversofthegenderpaygap,weholdallvariablesexceptone

constanttoisolateitsspecificeffect.Forexample,weholdwagesconstantwhileanalyzingthewagedistributionthat

womenwouldhaveiftheyfollowedthesamecareerpathwaysasmen.

Weseparatelycontrolforaverage,

occupation-specificworkinghoursofmen

andwomen,andwemodeldifferentialpay

levelswithineachoccupationbasedonroletitlesandtenures.Weaccountfortheimpactofeducationlevelandtypeofdegreeonthepaygapbyanalyzingcohortsofindividuals

whobegantheircareersinthesame

occupationandtracingtheircareerarcs.

Wealsorecognizethatanindividual’sageandyearsofexperiencecaninfluencethepaygap.Tocontrolforthis,wefocused

onindividualswithatleasttenyearsof

workexperience,examiningtheircareer

trajectoriesfromtheirentryintothe

workforcetoyearten.Asdiscussedearlier,wealsovalidatedourfindingsforaseparatesubsetof27,000individualswhohadat

least20yearsofrecordedexperience,distillingthedriversofthepaygapat

year20,andfoundthattheresultsremained

1Wepresentthenumberofindividualprofilesasroundedfiguresinthemainarticletext:thatis,about35,000women,51,000men,and86,000total.

2WomenintheWorkplace2024:The10th-anniversaryreport,McKinsey&CompanyandLeanIn,September2024.

3Thegenderpaygaphasbeendecreasingconsistentlyoverthepastthreedecades.Byusing2022wagesforworkersfromearlierperiods,ourpaygapestimatesforthesampleareconservative.

Toughtrade-offs:Howtimeandcareerchoicesshapethegenderpaygap6

Ourdata,scope,andmethodology(continued)

consistent,withcontinuingdifferencesincareertrajectoriesbetweenmenandwomeninthesecondten-yearperiod.

Inthisreport,wetypicallypresent

averagetrendsformenandwomen,whilerecognizingthattherearevariationsin

theseaverages.Wealsocheckedfor

statisticalsignificanceacrossallmetricsrepresentedinthisarticleandincluded

onlythosethatarestatisticallysignificantata5percentlevel.4

Limitations.Whilewedrawonadetailedandrichdataset,ouranalysisreflectsthechallengesofworkingwithde-identified,

self-reporteddata.First,ourdataset

doesnotcaptureallthenuancesofhow

companiesstructurecompensationor

implementwageincreases.Second,the

accuracyofreportedcareerbreaksand

theirreasonscanvary.Theremaybe

instancesofunreportedbreakswithin

thesamerolethatcouldhaveinfluenced

tenureandcareertrajectoriesbutarenotreflectedinourdata.Third,weproject

futurepathwaysbasedonhistoricaltrendswithoutaccountingforanexternally

determinedskillssupply,wagepremiums,orotherexogenouslaborsignals.Finally,

ourdataincludeonlybinarygender

classifications,implyingthatindividualsidentifyingasnonbinaryarelikely

categorizedaseithermaleorfemale.5

Thismethodologydoesnotleadus

topredictions;rather,itempirically

demonstratessomeofthedifferences

inmen’sandwomen’sworkexperience

journeys.Labormarketsarehighly

adaptableandmaygoontobehaveinwaysourmethodologydoesnotanticipate.

Seethetechnicalappendixformoredetailsonthedataandanalysis

undertakeninthisresearch.

Exhibit

Oursampleskewstowardhigher-payingoccupations.

Distributionofworkers,samplevsUStotalin2022,%

Byoccupationalwagequintile

Women

Our

sample

36K

Note:Datarepresentedfor35,000womenand51,000mensampledfromlicensed,de-identi?ed,online,publicwork-historypro?lesspanningthe?rst10yearsafterhighesteducation.Alldatarepresentedarestatisticallysigni?cantata5%levelwhererelevant.

Source:IPUMS,2022;AmericanCommunitySurvey,2022;USBureauofLaborStatistics;McKinseyGlobalInstituteanalysis

McKinsey&Company

Business/legal

professionalsManagers

STEM

professionalsO代cesupport

workers

Health

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

quintile

2ndor3rd

4thorbottom

Our

sample

36K

Byoccupationalgroup

sample51K

sample51K

UStotal

85M

UStotal

85M

UStotal

79M

UStotal

79M

professionals

Others

Top

Women

Men

Men

Our

Our

4Thatistosay,thep-valueislessthan5percent(p<0.05)forallresultsreportedinthisarticle.

5Formoreonbeingtransgenderatwork,seeDavidBaboolall,SarahGreenberg,MauriceObeid,andJillZucker,“Beingtransgenderatwork,”McKinseyQuarterly,November2021.

Toughtrade-offs:Howtimeandcareerchoicesshapethegenderpaygap7

Women’sworkexperiencepatternsdivergefrommen’sontwokey

dimensions:timeandmobility

Womenactivelychangerolesandtraversesimilarskilldistanceswhencomparedwithmen,buttheyspendlesstimeinpaidwork,onaggregate,and

theynavigatetheircareersindifferentdirections(Exhibit2).

Womentendtotakemorefrequentandlongercareerbreaksthanmen

Thearcofworkexperiencecanberelatively

smooth.Butfrequently,itinvolvesstopsandstartsaspeoplegoabouttheirpersonallivesalongside

theircareers,takingbreakstojuggleworkand

nonworkpriorities.Weaddedupalltheself-

reportedcareerbreaksinourdataset,lookingatthedirectionalpatterns.

8

Wefoundthatbothmenandwomeninoursamplereportedtakingcareerbreaks,definedhereasagapofonemonthormorebetweenrolemoves.

Perhapsunsurprisingly,womentookbreaksmoreoftenthanmendid,withasmuchasaneight-

percentage-pointdifferenceinhowoftenbreaksoccurredrelativetoallrolemovesatanestimatedageof37years.Witheverybreak,womenalso

spentmoredaysoutoftheworkforce,averaginganextrafourmonthsoffperbreak.

Exhibit2

Womenaccumulatedlessexperiencethanmen.Time-reIatedaveragemeasuresforworkers’careers

Men

Women

TotaInumberofdaysofbreaksbetweenroIesoverthe?rst10yearsoftheaveragecareer1

509

359

37.8

Hoursworkedperweek,20222

40.6

Womenmadeasimilarnumberofcareermovesbutendedupintop-payingoccupationsatalowerrate.

MobiIity-reIatedaveragemeasuresforworkersoverthe?rst10yearsoftheircareers

Women

2.68

Men

2.63

NumberofroIemovesacrossandwithinorganizations

78

78

ShareofroIemovesthatinvoIvedmovingtoaneworganization,%

44

42

SkiIIdistancebetweenroIes,%

Measuredastheweightedshareofskillsrequiredforanewjobthatdo

notoverlapwiththoserequiredbythejobthatimmediatelyprecededit.

Theskillsareweightedbasedonfrequencyofusetoemphasizeskillsthatareuniquetoaparticularroleoverthosethatarecommonacrossroles.

32

46

ShareofworkerswhoendedupinthetopoccupationaIpayquintiIeafterstartingIower,%

3

6

ShareofworkersinC-suitepositions,%

Note:Figuresbasedonde-identi?edwork-historypro?Iesof35,000womenand51,000men.SeetechnicaIappendixfordetaiIsonthedataset.1ExcIudesa1-monthtransitionperiodbetweentheendofoneroIeandthestartofanother.

2SimpIeaveragefortotaIUSworkforceacrossoccupations.

Source:IPUMS,2022;AmericanCommunitySurvey,2022;USBureauofLaborStatistics;McKinseyGIobaIInstituteanaIysis

McKinsey&Company

Toughtrade-offs:Howtimeandcareerchoicesshapethegenderpaygap8

Women’scareerbreaksaremostapparentduring

theirchild-rearingyears,likelylinkedtomaternity

leavesaswellascaringforyoungandschool-age

children.

9

Thewomeninoursamplewithlower

educationallevelstendedtotakelongerbreaks

frompaidworkcomparedwiththosewithadvanceddegrees.

10

Lookingatotherresearch,weinferthat

thismaybeduetothecostofcare,whichcanbe

prohibitivelyexpensiveforlowerwageearnersin

theUnitedStates,orperhapsrelatedtothehigherincidenceofnonmaritalchildbearingamongpeoplewithoutcollegedegrees.

11

Notably,wealsoseewomentakingbreaksbeyondtheirchild-rearingyears,at

ratesconsistentlyhigherthanformen(Exhibit3).

Exhibit3

Changeinshareofrolemovesthatentailedacareerbreak,byage,1%

65

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

8-pointgapatage37

30405060

Estimatedageattimeofrolemove2

WomenMen

Gapwhenwomen’sshareishigher

Daysoutoftheworkforceperbreakfortheaverageworkerwhotookabreak1

116

(~4months)

286

402

Note:Figuresbasedonde-identi?edwork-historypro?lesof35,000womenand51,000men.Seetechnicalappendixfordetailsonthedataset.

1Career-breakmeasuresexcludeanytransitionperiodupto1monthbetweentheendofoneroleandthestartofanother.

2BasedonaverageageuponmatriculationofUShighschoolgraduatesandcollegedegreerecipients.Excludeslimiteddataforworkersoutside25–60agerange.Source:McKinseyGlobalInstituteanalysis

McKinsey&Company

Toughtrade-offs:Howtimeandcareerchoicesshapethegenderpaygap9

Womengain14percentlessworkexperienceovertime

Householdresponsibilitiesarebeyondthescopeofourcurrentstudy,butotherresearchfinds

thatmaleandfemalehouseholdmemberstend

toallocatetimedifferentlyonadailyandweekly

basis.

12

Forexample,onelong-termstudyoffathersandmothersconcludedthattheproportionof

timededicatedtopaidworkbyfathersintheUS

workforcedecreasedfrom42hoursperweek

in1965to37hoursin2011.

13

Mothersincreased

theirtimespentinpaidworkfromeightto21hoursperweekoverthesameperiod.Althoughfathersallocatedsomeofthistimeawayfromwork

towardcaregivingandhouseholdresponsibilities,averagingabout17hoursperweekin2011,they

stillfellsignificantlyshortoftheapproximately

31hoursthatmothersdedicatedtotheseactivities,accordingtothestudy.

Overall,in2022,workingwomenclocked7percentlesstimeonpaidworkcomparedwithmen

.14

This

divergenceisacombinationoftwofactors:women

holdalargershareofpart-timejobsandworkslightlyshorterworkweeksintheirfull-timejobs.(Ofcourse,it’simportanttorememberthattheseareaggregatenumbers;wealsoseewomenleaninginwithmore-than-full-timejobsandmentakingonpart-time

roles.)

15

Alongwiththeircareerbreaks—women

take42percentmoredaysonbreaksthanmenoverthecourseofadecade—weestimatethatwomen

accrued