MYRTLE BEACH — The number of working women will surpass the number of working men this year. But even with the number of women in the work force, the payroll numbers still don’t play out in favor of women.
J.P. Perez said she opened her salon, Hair Safari, 25 years ago because she wanted to create a place to pursue her creativity. She was the first Hispanic hair stylist in Myrtle Beach, a city she said was very different then.
Fast forward two and half decades and she now owns the entire plaza in which her shop is located. Yet still today, she said, male hair stylists demand more from her.
“I’ve had male hair dressers that come in and say because they can attract more female clientele, that they should be paid a higher percentage than the females,” Perez said. “They also feel they should be put up front.”
Julinna Oxley, director of women and gender studies at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, said this is typical male behavior and one reason women make less. Men ask for more money; women don’t.
Women also tend to build less of what’s called human capital, Oxley said.
“Someone with human capital has a lot of skills, knowledge, abilities, contacts and the ability to network with other people,” she said. “You can have these if given the ability to develop them”
On average, American women make 70 to 80 cents less on the dollar compared with men.
That’s not always the case, though. It depends on the industry, and many women in the workplace are mothers taking on their family’s primary parenting role.
It’s what Perez said she experienced before opening her own business.
“They (men) were willing to put in more time because I was playing different roles,” Perez said. “I was a mother, a wife and I was taking care of a job.”
Oxley said single women make more than women with children during the course of a career.
Women generally have fewer opportunities to advance because they don’t work as many hours. They also complete less training and additional certifications. And, Oxley said, women overall choose lower-paying jobs.
Oxley said she believes women must know their value and be confident with their skills to demand the pay they’re worth.
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