Inflation and Labor Market Dynamics

The relocation decisions of male-female couples are predominantly determined by what's best for the man's career: 1. Couples are more likely to relocate when a man is laid off than after a woman is. 2. Men's earnings increase following a couple's move to a new commuting zone, while women's earnings stay the same or decline. This in part because women spend less time working, particularly in the first year after the move when they are more likely than men to be job hunting. The gender gap persists for at least five years and is largest among couples who are in their 20s. The researchers study Germany and Sweden, and attribute the results to relocation decisions being driven by antiquated gender norms. They conclude that "households in both countries place less weight on income earned by a woman compared to a man, particularly in Germany." By Seema Jayachandran, Lea Nassal, Matthew J. Notowidigdo, Marie Paul, Heather Sarsons, and Elin Sundberg. https://lnkd.in/eHSXi5Mj

When Moms First was starting out, a lot of people asked me: Why moms? Why not all parents? This is why: https://lnkd.in/eh3gqwPm ------ "This month, the U.S. Census Bureau published a bombshell finding: The gender wage gap just got wider for the first time in two decades ‒ with women now earning just 83 cents to a man’s dollar. That’s maddening. But, for moms at least, it’s hardly surprising. It’s next to impossible to balance work and family in this country ‒ and as this new data shows, women are taking the hit. As the cost of child care continues to soar, women will just keep falling further behind. On paper, there’s no reason to believe that women should be earning less than men. Girls are more likely to graduate from high school and more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree. More women than men go to law school and medical school, and women’s enrollment in MBA programs has reached record highs. In fact, women do earn nearly as much as men ‒ at least early in their careers. On average, women in their late 20s and early 30s are much closer to parity, taking home at least 90 cents on the dollar compared with the guys sitting next to them at graduation or new hire orientation. Then, when women hit their mid-30s, something changes. The pay gap gets wider. It’s no coincidence that that’s precisely when women are most likely to be raising kids. All of a sudden, women are forced to make very hard choices to manage the demands of work and family. As the founder of Moms First, I’ve heard versions of this story from more women than I can count. Maybe mom drops down to part-time so she can make it to school pickup. Or maybe she switches to a new job that pays less but offers more flexible hours. Or maybe she drops out of the workforce entirely, because the cost of day care would have outpaced her salary anyway. Make no mistake, we are talking about moms here. When women are paid less than men anyway (and, in the case of Black and Hispanic women, way less), deprioritizing their careers can feel like the only logical decision, even if it isn’t what they wanted. This creates a vicious cycle, where pay inequity begets more pay inequity ‒ and women are systematically excluded from economic opportunities. At the same time, while women experience a motherhood penalty, men experience a fatherhood premium ‒ working more hours and reaping bigger rewards than those without kids. As Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin put it, when describing her pioneering research on the pay gap, 'Women often step back, and the men in their lives step forward.' Because here’s the thing: The 'choice' to step back from the workforce isn’t much of a choice at all. If grandma isn’t around to pitch in and child care costs more than rent, what other option do you have?"

Today is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, the day of the year when Black women finally make as much as their non-Hispanic wh.ite male counterparts did at the end of 2023. 💰“Based on ACS Census data, the 2024 wage gap for Black women compared to non-Hispanic white men is $0.69 (cents).” 💡This is not a day of celebration for Black women but a day for us all to contemplate why this pay gap exists and how it devalues Black women and take action. Compared with other women in the United States, Black women have consistently had the highest levels of PAID labor market participation (this does not include centuries of unpaid labor due to enslavement) regardless of age, marital status, or presence of children at home. However, we are disproportionately represented in some of the most hazardous and lowest-wage occupations in healthcare such as CNAs and home health aides. (This is by design) The average wage across the top ten most common occupations for Black women was $30,200 compared to $80,500 for wh.ite, non-Hispanic men’s ten most common occupations. [source: National Partnership for Women and Families] At the same time: 🤱🏾3 of 4 Black mothers are breadwinners for their families (married or single) 👩🏾🎓Black women, one year after obtaining a bachelor's degree, have the highest average federal undergraduate student debt of $38,800 compared to other groups. 🙅🏾♂️🙅🏾♀️Year after year workplace studies by LeanIn and Mckinsey indicate that Black women are having some of the worst experiences in the workplace. From experiencing all-out racism, microaggressions, gaslighting, lack of promotion opportunities, and access to leadership roles which also impacts their ability to be paid equitably. This is a problem and contemplation is no longer enough it is time for us to move from awareness to action. 🏢Organizations Examine salary parity across gender AND race, make the data visible and work to close the gap Post salary information in job descriptions Remove stigma in sharing salaries Advance Black women to leadership positions Increase wages for caregiver and service-level roles Provide opportunities for front-line staff and those in service-level roles to get the tools they need to move to different areas of the organization Provide good insurance benefits, tuition reimbursement, paid parental leave, child care subsidy Ensure that your culture is psychologically safe for Black women ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿Allies Share your salary with Black women in similar roles Sponsor Black women Urge members of Congress to swiftly pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, and co-sponsor the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act (Links w/more info in comments) 💁🏾♀️Black Women Know your worth, ask for it! If you feel afraid, invest in the tools and resources you need to gain confidence asking. Go where you are valued not tolerated. Everybody 👏🏾Pay 👏🏾Black 👏🏾Women #liftingasweclimb2024 #Blackwomensequalpayday2024 #hireblack Equal Pay Today

We rank 129th out of 146 countries on gender pay gap. While equal pay ensures that men and women earn the same for identical tasks, the wage gap captures the broader disparities in earnings across sectors, roles, and lifetimes. So a physician is likely to earn more than a interior decorator, all other things being equal - if you have 20 years of experience you will earn more than someone with half of that… on average... Here are some contributing factors and solutions we can all champion: 1️⃣ Occupational Choices: A quick Google search for "best careers for women in India" surfaces predictable and lower-paying options like teaching, nursing and social media management. Compare that to men’s results—data science, investment banking, engineers, architects, and pilots. These results appear beacuse these careers are getting searched and I worry as women we often "satisfice," balancing societal and familial expectations, while men "optimize" for the highest-paying roles on day 1. It’s time for authentic conversations about these choices. Let’s guide young women to evaluate career paths based on averages, not outliers, and encourage them to aim higher. 2️⃣ Subject Selection in School: Math is often dropped too soon. Many girls give it up because they "don’t like it," but this limits access to high-paying fields like architecture and product design. Schools and parents must help students understand how early subject choices shape long-term opportunities - and that grades will only matter so much. 3️⃣ Continuous Employment: Caregiving responsibilities often push women out of the workforce. Staying employed—whether through flexible roles or reduced hours—builds future earning potential. Women, let’s have honest conversations with our managers about what we need to stay in the game. 4️⃣ Workplace Biases: Even when salaries start equally, biases creep in, slowing women’s growth over time. Transparency in pay and promotions is crucial, but so is equipping women with negotiation skills to fight for what they deserve. Role play with colleagues before your annual appraisal chats, read 'how to be effective' at these, find your path but find it. Some argue that women’s "choices" are their agency and many choose the lower paying tracks to lead fulfilling lives. But if those choices perpetuate disparities, they’re shaped by structural inequities, not freedom. The truth is simple: money is power. If we continue earning less, we’ll keep holding less power—socially and economically. We owe it to ourselves and the next generation to change this narrative. What are your thoughts? How can we address the gender wage gap in your industry? Let’s start a conversation. 💬 #futureofwork #genderequality #equalpay #wagegap

Let’s face it: financial insecurity among women is not a new problem. The gender pay gap remains a critical issue facing women in the workplace, compounding over time and resulting in reduced earnings, lower savings and, ultimately, a smaller Social Security check. Women retire with a staggering 30 percent less savings than men. Further accelerating this trend, women are more likely to take on family caregiving responsibilities, which often brings additional financial strain. While the outlook has improved some for women as a whole over the last several decades, women caregivers need more support. We can: ➡️ Implement better workplace policies and reduce gender pay inequity ➡️ Bolster Social Security, which is the bedrock of retirement funding ➡️ Push for commonsense legislation like the recently re-introduced Credit for Caring Act Read more from AARP’s Nancy LeaMond on the challenges facing women caregivers, and what steps we can take to put them and their families on firmer financial footing. #Caregiving #FinancialSecurity #Advocacy #Policy

Did you know on average women in the UK need to work 19 years longer than men to bridge the pensions savings gap? This was highlighted by findings from the Pensions Policy Institute earlier this year. The gender pension gap is a serious issue, particularly for women in midlife and beyond. Many women are forced to leave the workforce early due to health concerns like menopause, and at retirement, women’s pension pots are £136,000 short of men’s, leaving many to face financial insecurity. Also, 37% of women in the country do not engage in investments beyond their workplace pension, whereas this figure is 24% for men -- in part due to having less disposable income available for investment -- according to Aviva, a UK pension provider. The pandemic made things worse, with women over 65 struggling to bounce back from job losses. Gender pay gaps, ageism, and caregiving duties further compound these challenges, particularly when viewed through an intersectional lens. In the UK, women are almost three times more likely than men to retire early to care for a family member. All together, from the gender pension gap to caregiving duties, these findings paint a stark picture of the challenges midlife and older women face in the workplace. Yet, organisations are lagging. Despite Europe’s median age climbing, less than 10% of companies factor age into their diversity strategies. Older workers are often overlooked, but the skills they bring are invaluable. We need to prioritise flexible work, carer’s leave, and menopause support. Some companies are making strides by integrating age-inclusive practices—but more must follow suit. It’s time to close the pension gap and give older and midlife women the recognition, financial security and pension parity they deserve. Learn more about gendered ageism in one of our most recent blogs: https://lnkd.in/eEurQvKJ And read more about the gendered pension gap: https://lnkd.in/eNRxk2gu #GenderEquality #GenderEquity #EDI #DEI #ThreeBarriers

𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. Fresh Office of the National Statistics (UK) research published recently confirms what we already know. I have spoken and written about “The Motherhood Penalty” before, but this report spotlights on the hard numbers. The numbers are staggering and the stark data points that every business leader needs to see: 1. First child impact is devastating : Five years after having their first child, mothers earned 42% less per month (£1,051) compared to one year before birth, with total earnings losses of £65,618 over five years. 2. The penalty compounds with each child: Second births resulted in £26,317 in lost earnings over five years, while third births led to £32,456 in losses. The impact stacks with each childbirth. 3. It's not just about leaving work: Even among mothers who remained in paid employment, earnings were still significantly reduced, with losses of £64,715 over five years following a first birth. This suggests reduced hours, lower-paying roles, or stunted progression. 4. Employment rates take a major hit: The probability of being in paid employment dropped by 15 % at its peak (18 months after first birth), and remained 11.2% lower five years after having a first child. The report doesn’t include indirect financial loss for mothers, like pension, share options, bonus and future employability. Would have loved to see the total financial impact of motherhood on women. When you factor those in, the earnings gap could well balloon up more than £173k to some obnoxious number like half a million or more. 🥲 The point is - motherhood carries a measurable, significant financial penalty that grows over time, but are we ready yet to face this truth? And anyone listening?? My previous thoughts on Motherhood Penalty is in the comments. You can also find a link to the ONS report in the comments. Pic is mine.. #motherhoodpenalty #womeninbanking #womeninfinance #genderpaygap

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐲? 𝐓𝐨 𝐦𝐞, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬: "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧?"    This is a question most men have never asked themselves. Why is that?   According to a study by #Spiegel, men simply earn the same, if not more, after becoming parents. Women don’t.   💡 In fact, men without children work Ø 39.7 h/ week and increase their workload to 40.2 h when they become parents. However, women without children work Ø 33.2 h/ week, whereas they reduce their workload to only 24.6 h/ week when they become parents.   ➡️ Women's wages fall dramatically when they become parents. In addition, mothers continue to earn significantly less than fathers even when their first child is between 5 and 10 years old:   In Germany, mothers earn Ø 61% less 10 years after the birth of their first child than they did one year before. This effect is not observed for fathers. Pay disparities also stem from an unequal distribution of unpaid care work within heterosexual couples, as mentioned in my latest post.   𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬. C𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰: ↪️ 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧-𝐭𝐨-𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬: Ensure mothers have access to resources to help them catch up on any changes that occurred while they were on leave.   💻 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Implement remote work options, flexible hours, and compressed workweeks.   👶 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬: Encourage men to take advantage of parental leave, it is crucial in challenging traditional gender roles as both parents can bond with their children and share caregiving responsibilities more equitably.   💰 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞: Extend parental leave options beyond the legally required minimum to support mothers during their early postpartum period.   🤝 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Invest in such initiatives specifically designed to support and advance the careers of women.   To be clear: It’s totally alright if women decide to not immediately start working once, they have children. But those women, who do want to, should be supported in their decision as well. Who's with me?   #womeninbusiness #equality

Everyone’s Collecting Certificates. But Who Still Believes Them? You’ve probably seen it on your feed: Someone just earned a new badge. “AI Fundamentals.” “Digital Marketing for Leaders.” “Certified Future-Ready Professional.” 👏 Congrats, right? But here’s the real question - 👉 Do these certificates still mean anything? The Promise In the past few years, we were told skills are the new currency. Don’t worry if you don’t have a degree - just get certified, show your skills, and employers will notice. Sounds great in theory. And the numbers look strong: ✅ 96% of employers say micro-credentials make job applications stronger. ✅ 74% say these certificates help fill skills gaps. So far, so good. The Problem When you dig deeper, things get blurry. ⚠️ Almost half of employers say they’re not sure what these certificates actually prove. ⚠️ 42% doubt the skills match what’s needed on the job. And studies show only 1 in 10 short courses really lead to better pay or career outcomes. It’s not that people don’t want to learn. It’s that the proof has become noisy. Everyone’s collecting certificates - but employers can’t tell which ones actually matter. The Credential Bubble We used to have degree inflation - where every job needed a university degree. Now we’re facing credential inflation - where every CV is full of badges and logos, but little clarity. We’ve made “lifelong learning” a slogan, but not yet a system of trust. What Needs to Change If we want skills to truly count, we need: 1️⃣ Transparency – Show real outcomes: who got hired, what skills were proven. 2️⃣ Verification – Common quality standards, not just nice designs on a PDF. 3️⃣ Co-creation – Employers and educators designing credentials together, not separately. The Big Picture The skills economy isn’t broken - it’s just growing up. The world doesn’t need more credentials. It needs credible ones. Because the real shortage today isn’t skills. It’s trust. 💬 What do you think? Have you ever hired - or been hired - based on a short course or badge? Did it actually help?

🚨 The Great Paradox of Trainer Competence: Are We Creating Experts or Just Labels? In today’s training systems, we operate with two wildly contradictory yardsticks for measuring a trainer’s communication and expertise. I will not touch Inter Rater Reliability, it deserves a separate piece. 🔹 On one side, a trainer is painstakingly assessed—rated a Level 4 communicator only after structured observation, longitudinal evaluation, and behavioural fidelity checks. This takes years of practice and refinement. 🔹 On the other side, the competency based framework can magically elevate the same person to Subject Matter Expert (SME) status—sometimes after just 15 minutes of exposure. In automation and other complex competencies, I’ve even seen SME badges granted in one week. ⚠️ The Fallout? This “credential inflation” is not harmless. The newly upgraded trainer begins feeding the system with low-fidelity data masquerading as credible evidence. The system, in turn, consumes this data and congratulates itself: “All is well.” In truth, it’s a false consensus loop—what Reason called a latent error, what Dekker would label drift into failure, and what Helmreich warned of as ritualized compliance. The illusion of competence is reinforced, while real capability quietly erodes. 📚 Research is clear: • ICAO Doc 9868 cautions against equating exposure with mastery. • Hollnagel stresses that resilience collapses when competence is substituted by certification rituals. • Reason (1997) showed us that systemic illusions of safety are the breeding ground for tomorrow’s accidents. ⚖️ The Irony Across Domains No other profession would tolerate this epistemic dissonance: • Imagine a surgeon declared “expert” after a weekend workshop. • A pilot promoted to check captain after a YouTube video. • A lawyer upgraded to Supreme Court advocate after a three-day seminar. Yet in training, we embrace it. 👉 So who really is a Subject Matter Expert? The practitioner who has earned mastery through experience and evidence? Or the individual who fast-tracked through a competency based module designed to generate throughput, not truth? It is, frankly, a mockery of professional epistemology—a case of missing the woods (credible competence) for the trees (short-term credentialism). And worse: the forest we are left with is plastic. ⸻ 💬 What do you think—are we manufacturing experts, or manufacturing illusions? #CompetencyBased #TrainingSystems #HumanFactors #Automation #EpistemicIntegrity #SME