TUCSON, AZ — Pushing for change when it comes to women in the business field: that’s the goal of an Arizona professor and researcher who’s made it her mission to educate not just her students, but also the world about the challenges that still exist for so many women.
“I had never had an economics class in high school,” describes University of Arizona professor Dr. Mary Rigdon about where her passion comes from. “I was taught Home Economics – remember that? That was only about how to manage a household.”
But even as a young woman, Dr. Rigdon knew that she and her female classmates were capable of more, despite the messages society was sending.
“Women are less likely to negotiate higher salaries, less likely to ask for well-deserved pay raises, less likely to apply for promotions, even though we are fully qualified for bigger and better gigs, and that we shy away from male-dominated high-paying positions.”
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But Dr. Rigdon is trying to change that, deciding to dedicate her life to examining the policies, societal limitations, and data that show our culture still hasn’t created a level playing field for women, especially in the business world.
Take female CEOs for instance. According to Dr. Rigdon, the research shows that in 2023, only 10% of the CEOs for Fortune 500 companies were women – and that was a record high.
Dr. Rigdon says there is another gender gap that exists as well.
“It's women in finance,” explains Dr. Rigdon. “Women are woefully under-represented, especially in the senior level of management. They make up half the entry workforce in the U.S. and 6% of top financial institutions have women in top positions.”
Dr. Rigdon says that much of the research points the finger at women themselves, saying they’re simply not as competitive as their male counterparts, which she says unfairly puts the blame back on women.
"It puts the burden on women, and it tells someone that you need to change your behavior and be more successful instead of thinking creatively and designing incentive mechanisms that might actually encourage a woman to compete in competitive jobs."
Instead, Dr. Rigdon suggests that it's not women who need to change their approach — it's the companies.
“It’s about changing the systems in which we operate. There are ways that organizations can attract competitive women, but we need to think strategically about what those mechanisms look like instead of telling women to lean in or be more assertive for which.”
There is also another major inequity when it comes to women in the workforce, and that’s when it comes down to wages.
According to recent data from Pew Research, if a white man earns $1.00 at a job, an Asian woman would only be paid $0.93 for that same job, a white woman would get paid $0.83, a Black woman would get $0.70, and a Hispanic woman would get $0.65.
ABC15 asked what Native American women would get paid on average, but Dr. Rigdon says at this moment, there isn’t enough data out there to provide an accurate answer.
Dr. Rigdon says the cost we all pay by not paying women fairly is undeniable.
“We as a society are paying costs associated with the racial pay gap.”
Dr. Rigdon says studies have shown that $1.5 trillion over ten years is what is needed to close that racial pay gap.
