In addition to this, gender differences in ‘Achievement Motivation’ were also observed (Risse and others, 2018)3. When broken down into the sub-traits of ‘fear of failure’ and ‘hope for success’, it was found that women score more highly on ‘fear’ and lower on ‘hope’. This was further associated with negative emotionality and fewer career-related opportunities. Therefore, when considering the observed gender differences in personality and achievement motivation, this has indeed had a statistical impact on the explanation of the gender pay gap. It is thought that personality and motivational gender differences offer up to 5% explanation for the discrepancy in pay this year.
Gender differences in personality and motivation are evident but are not the only contribution. Therefore, further gender difference considerations should be observed and discussed. One further consideration is the effect of Emotional Intelligence (EI) on career success and subsequent pay.
This piece was authored by Holly Ardern (JCA intern) under the guidance of Bill Davies (JCA Global)