Over the past two decades, the gender pay gap has remained relatively stagnant. Pew Research Center reports that in 2002 women earned 80% of what men earned, and in 2022 women earned 82%. Despite progress, half of the US population still believes that women receive different treatment from employers compared to their male colleagues. Jennifer Justice, CEO of a legal services company, has observed this inequality first-hand. As a seasoned entertainment lawyer, she spent years negotiating salaries for both male and female clients and found that her female clients consistently received less pay than men. One excuse she often heard was that the women’s husbands already brought in sufficient income, whereas male colleagues “supported their whole family” and thus deserved a higher salary. Even when both the wife and husband worked, in some cases it was deemed acceptable for the woman to earn less.
Justice, an entertainment lawyer, reveals how female clients were historically subjected to discriminatory pay negotiations. She recounts instances where she faced pushback for seeking a higher salary for female clients who were single and childless. In contrast, male clients were assumed to need higher pay to support their families. Justice also observed that female clients' personalities were sometimes used as an excuse to lower their salaries. She notes that this discrimination still occurs today, but believes that women are speaking out against it and seeking each other's advice. Justice hopes that this will eventually lead to the end of sexist tactics and the closing of the pay gap.