Sisterhood Part III: 'Earning Gaps'

When we look at the hidden desires of Urban radio's most popular demographic, it's almost a foregone conclusion that women wanted to be treated and paid as equals. In this, the third part in our current series on females, we look at the earning gaps for women in radio. It will probably come as no surprise to you that even in 2009, women who do the same job as men, often are paid less for doing it. Fortunately, as the format has grown and matured, so have many of the attitudes of the past and each year finds more and more women achieving positions of power and influence. As in any business, climbing the corporate ladder is a difficult task -- one that requires an extreme amount of drive, luck, determination and single-mindedness.

We analyzed some studies that showed just a year or so out of college, females earn 15-20% less than their male counterparts. Ten years after graduation,n the pay gap often gets worse, according to a new study by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation.

Now again, this is not just limited to those working in radio, but those working in various jobs overall, including radio. There is also another recent survey that shows that gap is narrowing, but it still exists ... and the question is why? These pay differences that appear early in their careers are so important because pay wages and job offers are based on your previous earnings. Over time, they become cemented and the differences continue to grow.

Our studies found that many women major in subjects that traditionally pay less, such as education, liberal arts and even journalism. But the pay gap exists among men and women who concentrate in the same area, though the size of the gap varies. In education, for example, women earn 5% less than their male colleagues in the first year after graduation.

Accounting for hours, occupation, parenthood and other factors, the study found that one-quarter of the wage disparity is unexplainable and may be due to discrimination.

So how do we close the pay disparity for females entering careers in traditionally male-dominated and higher-paying occupations such as management and senior management? The first step is to create awareness among women to negotiate for better pay, and to create family-friendly policies in the work place. Now, given the current economy, some of these moves may have to be tempered, but they can't be ignored.

Women must have some knowledge of not only their rights, but how to deal effectively with career issues they face, including pay disparity. Ask any woman who's ever started from the ground zero and she'll probably tell you she had a mentor who guided her in the right direction, taught her what she needed to know and was generally there for advice and counsel. That can make the difference between early success and failure, between getting promoted and getting paid or not.

Coping Couples & Trailing Spouses

One of the best ways for fill-in-the-salary gaps is by both husband and wife working. When Barbara Johnson got a gig with a bank recently, she felt certain her husband, who was a college graduate and had been a drive-time air personality, PD and MD, could find a job quickly in this medium-sized market with four Urban stations. She and their two young children moved up from the South while he started a long-distance job hunt. Nine months later, he's still looking, flying in to see his family on weekends, compliments of her parents, who want to help them stay together.

It's an all-too-familiar story. The expenses of two households, the frustration of his job hunt and the stress of bringing young children to a new city without their father can really take its toll. Still, they say they have it easier than some other families, where the woman finds a job in a new city and the man has to keep looking.

A colleague of hers told Shirley her husband had switched careers and finally had to settle for a lower-paying job after over a year of unemployment. But her husband wasn't in radio. In other situations, the marriage ends in divorce or the husbands just aren't in the work force at all. There are lots of people in the same or similar boats today. According to the Employee Relocation Council in Washington, about 26,000 men follow their wives to new jobs each year.

Women now make up over 16% of all transferees. That's triple the level just 10 years ago. The numbers are far higher in businesses such as banking and computers. They remained somewhat stable in the radio industry up until a few years ago, then the bottom fell out. The national average among radio personalities and programmers is much lower, but unemployment and transfers still occur quite frequently.

No one asked, "Which one of you got transferred?" said Shirley, whose job as a customer service representative for big Midwest insurance company brought her family clear across the country. "Then there's always the assumption that it was his job and then the surprise."

Shirley and her husband, Chris, decided she's lead the way because her income was the family mainstay, while his background in radio seemingly offered more flexibility in finding a new job. After all, if he had to, he could work Top 40, AC and even Country. Why he'd even do news and run the board, if necessary. But there were just no openings and even no immediate hope of any part-time positions. Outside of Urban radio there was a line of qualified "good old boys" waiting.

At worst, such a move can create emotional upheaval for couples used to viewing the man as the leader and breadwinner. But at best, it can open new opportunities for both partners and provide a few good laughs. Moving is toughest for middle-income couples who rely on both incomes. That would include many of us in this radio and music business. Often, such families can't afford to have either member unemployed for the months it can take to find a good gig in a new city.

Even when the woman's new job pays enough for the family to live on, unemployment can be particularly hard on a man, say many experts. As children we were taught, "You're supposed to have a job all the time." It's really a blow, as men tend to take it harder. Joining a support group can help a little. But the problem is that most of the people in those groups have ordinary jobs, tend to lead ordinary lives and we somehow feel even when they try their best, they simply can't relate. After all, we're really in show business.

Media coverage of this problem of "trailing spouses," while helpful, has added to the ego strain by latching onto that label. Men tend to feel that they can't stand on their own two feet and their women are dragging them along.

Reshuffling household duties can also create stress. "Men often seem more frustrated when they're the ones who must stay behind and handle the move." said Sandra Stewart of a relocation company. "They come off like 'this is women's work,'" she said.

"If I could account for my break," she said. "It would be, 'Oh, she took some time off, that's so wonderful." But if a man says, 'I took some time off because I wanted a better lifestyle for my family, I don't think people would buy into it."

The needs of two-career couples, which apply to many in our business today, have complicated job transfers for years, but the recent surge in men following women has also brought a surge of attention to job-assistance benefits for spouses, say The Impact Group, another relocation firm.

Last year a radio family was facing transfers that affected both the husband and the wife. His company wanted to move him to Atlanta, but offered no assistance to spouses. Her company wanted to have her come to Baltimore and offered them the service of a placement company, plus up to a month's lost salary. Then the placement company found out he was in radio and suddenly all bets were off. Ordinarily, the benefits package would be a big part of their decision.

About one-half of all companies offer some employment aid to spouses and about one-fourth offer it to unmarried partners, according to the Employment Relocation Council. Those benefits range from help preparing resumes to full packages that may include placement service, career and personal counseling, paid job-hunting trips and reimbursement for professional licensing fees. Many of these services were unheard of back before the recession. Now, they're just things we talk about that we wish we knew about.

Couples looking at a move need to be savvy enough to ask for the benefits; about half the companies provide them, but only when asked, according to the council. So before you bail out and take your last paycheck and head for the unemployment line, ask about the benefits we've described. A lot of us in this business don't know abut these services, don't ask and suffer needlessly because of this lack of knowledge. Couples also should do a lot of talking in advance, about everything from possible emotional issues to backup plans in case the man doesn't find a full-time gig right away.

One more tip from the experts: Couples shouldn't be too hard on themselves when things get rocky. Moving, unemployment and new jobs are all stressful by themselves. Face them all at the same time, then throw in role reversal and understand that couples are bound to face occasional arguments and low spirits.

Finally, if something seems "off," this isn't the time to throw caution to the wind and boldly forge ahead. Instead launch an inquiry to establish whether you are being overly sensitive or not. Regardless of whether or not you're part of a couples situation or what the individual circumstances may be, we salute all women in Urban radio who have carved out a niche for themselves.

Word.

(Next Week Part IV - The New Mrs. Jones)