It’s well known that our political persuasion affects the way we manage, so it’s perhaps no great surprise that it also affects the way we pay our staff.  That is nonetheless the finding from new research from the University of California San Diego, which found that when Democrats controlled state houses, it tends to see a boost in income for women compared to men.

The researchers reveal that across all states, women’s wages average just 70% of men’s in 2018, but that this gap typically closes by 3.6% after Democrats are elected in a state.

“No voting bloc is more important in American elections than women,” the researchers explain. “With women accounting for more than half of all votes, small shifts in the female vote can and likely will determine who wins in November.”

Women’s gains

The researchers also assessed how changes in the White House affect pay equality, and found that in the last 50 years, women’s income grew around twice as fast under Democratic administrations than they did under Republican administrations.  What’s more, poverty and unemployment also fell more under Democratic governments.

“Just one year of Democratic control leads to a one percentage point increase in the female-male income ratio, a 0.7 percentage point decline in the wage gap, a 0.4 percent decline in the female-male employment gap, and a .28 percent decline in the male-female poverty gap,” the researchers explain.

This finding is crucial as data suggests that the gender pay gap is not only still present, but the gap is closing more slowly than was previously the case.  Indeed, recent estimates suggest that women would need to work for 50 years to earn what a man earns in 40.

Continuing inequity

Obviously, there are many factors behind this, including the continuing role of women as the primary caregiver in the family, which causes the gender pay gap to widen after women become mothers.  The researchers explain, however, that 38% of the pay gap can’t be explained by factors such as educational attainment, years of experience, or occupation.

While it’s not entirely clear what Democrats do differently to Republicans to cause pay to become more equal between the genders, the researchers nonetheless suggest a couple of factors are likely to be key.

“The first is gender policy,” they explain. “Democratic control of the state houses leads to significantly more liberal policies on gender discrimination and access to family planning. The other factor is female representation. We find that having more women in office also leads to more liberal gender policy and likely contributes to improvement on basic economic indicators for women.”

It’s not just a case of having more women in public office, however, as this was found to only matter when Democrats controlled the house.  Interestingly, however, while Democratic control was important for pay equality, this wasn’t the case with regard to control of the governor’s office or the state senate.

As polarization has increased, the researchers believe this differential is likely to increase as the two main parties have clearer divides now than has been the case for much of the 20th Century.