The Surprising Reason Why the Gender Pay Gap Hasn’t Shrunk

It gets more intense every year — the drive to work longer and longer hours. And there’s striking new research that shows that women, who already get paid less than men, are put at a distinct disadvantage by an American job market that rewards overwork rather than performance.

In the final episode of season one of Better Life Lab, we hear from Youngjoo Cha, a sociologist at Indiana University and an expert on overwork and gender. Her research shows that, while the education gap is closing between men and women, overwork has all but cancelled out efforts to equalize the job market. In fact, the gender pay gap would have actually shrunk by 10 percent in recent decades if it wasn’t for this phenomenon.

Ciannat Howett, an associate professor at Emory University, shares her own story of job growth and overwork.

Podcast production by David Schulman.

Better Life Lab is a partnership of Slate and New America.