Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah

This paper will investigate the gender wage gap existing in Utah and why Utah has the widest gap. Discrimination is considered the leading cause of the gender wage gap in Utah. Within the body of the paper the types of discrimination are discussed, and applicable economic theory is explored. An application of Neoclassical Economic principals will be defined and applied to the modernday Utah wage gap, in an effort to better understand the reasons behind the existence of the gap, and potential means of closing the gap. This paper will discuss values and gender specific roles of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints (LDS). It will contemplate any correlations that could be present between the church culture and the wage gap of Utah, since the LDS church is both the majority religion and historically significant to the state of Utah. There are measurable and unmeasurable factors that contribute to the gender wage gap in Utah. Measurable factors include education, experience, and occupational choice, while the influence of religion is not entirely quantifiable. There are correlations between the Utah's cultural norms and the key factors that explain the gender wage gap.

Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah By Rachel Jones Senior Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for a degree in Economics Westminster College Salt Lake City, UT Jan. 2nd, 2019 Author Note Rachel Jones is an undergraduate student pursuing her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Economics at Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT. The author would like to thank John Watkins and some anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions. All errors and omissions reside with the author. Correspondence concerning this thesis should be addressed to Rachel Jones, [e-mail]. Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 2 Abstract This paper will investigate the gender wage gap existing in Utah and why Utah has the widest gap. Discrimination is considered the leading cause of the gender wage gap in Utah. Within the body of the paper the types of discrimination are discussed, and applicable economic theory is explored. An application of Neoclassical Economic principals will be defined and applied to the modernday Utah wage gap, in an effort to better understand the reasons behind the existence of the gap, and potential means of closing the gap. This paper will discuss values and gender specific roles of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints (LDS). It will contemplate any correlations that could be present between the church culture and the wage gap of Utah, since the LDS church is both the majority religion and historically significant to the state of Utah. There are measurable and unmeasurable factors that contribute to the gender wage gap in Utah. Measurable factors include education, experience, and occupational choice, while the influence of religion is not entirely quantifiable. There are correlations between the Utah's cultural norms and the key factors that explain the gender wage gap. Keywords: religion; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; inequality; discrimination; gender wage gap; Utah Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 3 Introduction "Individuals are born into society and exist and develop through it in a way such that their very capacities and personalities, including psychological and other dispositions, are to an extent molded, shaped, formed and continually transformed by the societal conditions" (Tony Lawson, 2003, 204-205). The wage gap exists and has been studied thoroughly for several decades. There are contributing factors to the gap including, but not limited to education, experience, marital status, salary, hours worked, occupation, geographical factors, and the size of the family. Studies show how the gap shrank from the 1950s to the 1990s and what effectively contributed to this convergence (Blau and Kahn). However, the gender wage gap has been remarkably stable since then, nationally and within each state. The gender wage gap is a puzzle in that it's not decreasing, despite the educational levels of women (nationally) having increased dramatically during the past 30 years, and average female work experience being nearly as high as the average level of males. Traditional factors such as education, work experience, and occupation explain only about one-third (Kuhn, 2010) to two-thirds (Mette Deding, 2009) of the gender wage gap. The unexplained portion of the gender wage gap is commonly attributed to discrimination. I will discuss the different forms of discrimination and the possible ways it can be measured. These determinants are factors of formal institutions. Most studies explain the influence of formal institutions, such as academic institutes and business corporations, but what of the informal institutions? It is only recently, that studies are addressing the informal institutions such as cultural customs, traditions, and codes of conduct. The influence of informal institutions on social and economic outcomes may explain the remaining third of the gender wage gap. Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 4 Religion and culture norms may have a greater impact on the gender wage gap than what can be quantified, empirically measured. A study by S. Seguino (2011) focuses on the interaction of various religions and their practices involving gender equality across many countries. He finds that "no single religion stands out as more gender inequitable than others." He also finds that the frequency of religious participation is consistently correlated to gender roles and attitudes. Wiseman and Dutta (2016) were the first to focus exclusively on the United States. They observed the interaction of the gender wage gap and qualifiers of religion, as measured by Pew Research's religiosity indexes, U.S. Religious Landscape Survey data. Their findings show that, "a percentage point increase in religiosity is related to a larger gender wage gap by 0.3 percentage points." Other studies find that gender inequality is a fallout from certain religious norms and traditions (Klingorova, 2015). It is possible that the strong and rigid religious beliefs can influence labor market decisions, attitudes, and roles among women. These studies show that there is an interaction between informal institution factors and the gender wage gap. Informal institutional factors may be difficult to quantify, but if only two-thirds of the determinants of the gender wage gap have been identified then perhaps more studies need to delve into the informal institutions. The fact that the gender wage gap still persists, and that religion is embedded so deeply into American culture and society, it seems highly possible that religion is perhaps a strong determinant. This paper seeks to analyze the different economic theories used to explain the gender wage gap, why Utah has the largest gender wage gap, and the potential influence of the Church of Jesus Christ and of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) religion. Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 5 Defining the Problem The unexplained portion of the gender wage gap is commonly attributed to discrimination. This paper will explore the different forms of discrimination and the possible ways it can be measured. Economic theories differ in explanations in saying the gender wage gap is a result of gender characteristics, marketplace characteristics, job characteristics, and/or as a result of individual personal decisions. The term gender characteristic, implied in its title, would be an innate feature, imbued upon each gender inherited by the very sex of the person. However, in reality, they are just stereotyped, regular, channeled actions and behaviors which fall under the majority of the bell curve, which can be associated with a person's gender, thus generating the stereotype. The gender wage gap is a complex issue with differing economic theories. It is especially interesting when you examine the gap in the state of Utah. What factors make Utah an outlier in this regard? What causes Utah to have the largest gap? This paper will address the cultural influences on the gender wage gap unique to Utah. In the most recent national research studies, Utah is listed as having the widest gender wage gap. According to a study by National Partnership for Women and Families, Utah women earn 68-71 cents to each dollar men earn, where nationally women earn 80 cents to each dollar. Perhaps cultures that are heavily influenced by religion stress a more subdued female role. Utah is heavily religious, over 62 percent considered LDS, and thus the religion may affect the gender wage gap. According to the Pew Research Institute's Religious Landscape Survey, Utah placed in the top 10 most religious states. The study measures the how religious one considers themselves to be, through the questions "do you belief in god", "is religion important", "do you attend church", and "how often do you pray". Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 6 The plain English meaning of discrimination is to make a distinction; we make distinctions every day of our lives in our decisions and what we choose. However, unlawful discrimination refers to unfair treatment of a person based on certain characteristics, such as ethnicity, sex, marital status, and religion (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964). Discrimination is defined in different ways. First, outright discrimination refers to a person choosing to treat another person unfairly. And second, the type of discrimination stemming from cultural norms. This second type of discrimination exists unconsciously. We will discuss later how unconscious bias, influenced by religion, may influence the gender wage gap Most people's concept of racial discrimination involves explicit, direct hostility expressed by whites toward members of a disadvantaged racial group. Yet discrimination can include more than just direct behavior (such as the denial of employment or rental opportunities); it can also be subtle and unconscious (such as nonverbal hostility in posture or tone of voice). Furthermore, discrimination against an individual may be based on overall assumptions about members of a disadvantaged racial group that are assumed to apply to that individual (i.e., statistical discrimination or profiling). Discrimination may also occur as the result of institutional procedures rather than individual behaviors. (Council, 2004) Expressed in this quote is the type of discrimination that may be more predominant than what is commonly understood, discrimination as a result of channeling rather than individual behaviors. We will see how various economic theories explain discrimination. Women experience gender discrimination before entering into the labor force and during their participation in the labor force. The pre-labor discrimination is a result of social standards and severely rooted stereotypes regarding gender roles. These gender roles lead women to pick specific educational and professional choices. Such discrimination results from societal conditioning, channeling, environments that include the social role into which they were born. Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 7 Discrimination is just as complex as the gender wage gap, because it's not always measurable, definable, nor recognizable. After women enter the labor force, they face professional and wage discrimination. Professional discrimination is highly associated with the fact that women are often concentrated in low profile positions compared to men with the same qualifications who tend to get raises and promotions far more often. Over 60 percent of women are teachers and nearly 70% are nurses (BLS 2017). Men ascend the hierarchical pyramid (higher management positions with high earnings) far more often than women. Additionally, women tend to choose the same jobs, such as nursing and teaching, compared to men who choose more management positions (Bureau U. C., 2014). Wage discrimination takes place when women earn less than men for the same value and same amount of work. (see the differences in median weekly earnings for female and male workers in the table below) Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah Table 1: Median Weekly Earnings for Female and Male Workers, by Race and Ethnicity for Broad Occupational Groups (Full-Time Workers Only), 2017 Before we can adequately examine the gender wage gap with reference to Utah's religious culture, we first need a basic understanding of the differing economic schools of thought. 8 Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 9 Neoclassical Approach to Discrimination Neoclassical economics is an approach to economics that focuses on the determinations of goods, outputs, and income distributions in the marketplace through supply and demand. It dominates microeconomics and is heavily used in studies addressing the gender wage gap, so it is imperative to understand the rationale and explanation. Neoclassical theories focus on the construct of the wage gap between men and women, and focus on the gender segregation in occupations. Neoclassical theory defines humans as rational beings who maximize utility and take into consideration the choices made in using limited resources. Economics is concerned with the production, consumption, and transferring of limited resources. This assumption of rational thinking is the framework for the neoclassical theories of economics. In labor markets, demand and supply are equal and the equilibrium takes place in the long-run. Every factor that may interrupt the long-run equilibrium in the labor markets is considered as exogenous and temporary. This means the market will always return to an equilibrium state. Neoclassical explains why systematic labor market disadvantages are experienced by some groups in society. Competitive firms maximizing profits would warrant that all workers should be paid their marginal revenue product. Therefore, if one group of workers is paid less than another, then there must be a difference in each group's productivity. However, if this is not the case then there is discrimination. Therefore, according to neoclassical theory, discrimination is due to a failure of competition that allows non-profit maximizing behavior to persist. If the world could be made to look more like the neoclassical model of perfect competition, then many problems would be removed, such as the gender wage gap. Neoclassical economists believe that promoting competition will cause employers that discriminate to go out of business. For example, take a town that has two grocery stores, owned Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 10 by Bob and Tom. Tom serves everyone in the town, young and old, blacks and whites, and religious or non-religious. Bob on the other hand will only sell to white people, thus limiting his customers. Those people who can't shop at Bob's grocery store will then go to Tom's place. Bob will lose significant profit opportunity while Tom gains many customers. According to neoclassical theory rational people gather and interact with rational people. According to the neoclassical theory Bob is being irrational and is not maximizing profit. With more customers Tom can offer competitive prices, thus creating a more competitive advantage. This leads to more customers and decreased profits for Bob. Bob would eventually go out of business because he discriminates and can't keep up with Tom's competitive advantage. In a free market, according to neoclassical economists, there is an incentive to separate economic efficiency from the other characteristics of an individual. For example, an LDS shop owner who limits the sale of his goods to only be sold to other LDS members, puts themselves at a disadvantage to the shop owner who does not discriminate selling to all individuals. The LDS shop owner would be imposing higher costs on themselves than the shop owner who doesn't hold those preferences. When a shop owner does not sell to a certain group, he pushes those sales, and the profit from those sales, into the hands of their competitors, which pushes a greater risk of quenching their ability to compete in an open market. Additionally, if information about individual workers could be improved then firms wouldn't need to use stereotypes thus eliminating discrimination. Neoclassical theories explain labor market disadvantage not due to discrimination by the characteristics of the individuals filling the jobs, which results from their different productivity. This, in turn, is attributable to the failure of such individuals to invest in human capital. They therefore focus on the supply side of the labor market to explain any labor market disadvantages. Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 11 They also have theories to explain why some employers may discriminate in their employment practices, for example, through lack of information about individuals or a distaste for employing members of certain groups. Human Capital Within the confines of the Neoclassical school of thought lies the theory of human capital (Becker) which will help illuminate why it's possible for rational people to create a gender wage gap. Becker associates the gender wage gap to be a result of the differences in abilities between genders. Human capital refers to the abilities and qualities of people that make them more productive, which in turn makes them more valuable. The differences in skills and abilities create the differences in wages. People choose the quantity of the human capital they want to accumulate throughout their life, which leads them to different levels of productivity. We acquire most of our human capital through education and work place experience. The more one invests into their human capital the more one reaps the benefits, such as higher income. We make these kinds of investments throughout our lives and we continue to benefit from them. However, there are tradeoffs investing in human capital. For instance, while attending college we endure low wages, but after we have a higher degree the tradeoff for the initial low wage is higher earnings. A woman who decides to have children invests less into her human capital because, with child rearing, more time is required at home. Becker's concept infers importance of education. However, it is not the degree that increases productivity, but the ability Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 12 of the person who has the degree. Becker implies that the gender wage gap exists because women are simply less productive than men. Each person has the potential for a vast amount of human capital. A person's education and experience gives an employer a factor of measurement of industrial value. Various other factors within society and culture impact the amount of human capital everyone can obtain, with the same amount of time and energy invested. For example, the child of Harvard graduates will obtain more human capital at a faster rate than the child of migrant workers. Each person measures his or her abilities and goals, and then directs his or her attention to investing in human capital. This, of course is the "economic way of looking at life." Since each person decides on the investment into his or her human capital, Becker implies people are purposeful and rational. Graph1. Production Possibility Curve The production possibility curve illustrates the effects of personal decisions. Each person may be viewed as having a production possibility curve (PPC), meaning that each of us makes choices regarding how to satisfy our needs and wants. At the same time, the choices before us are conditioned by the existing conditions and institutions in society. A person whose Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 13 parents are Harvard graduates has more options than someone whose parents are migrant workers. A person who grew up in a conservative family and in a traditional state is influenced differently than a person who grew up with lesbian parents in a progressive state. Based on different options, each person chooses a specialization or skill such as a college degree or a specific skill, shifting out his or her PPC possibilities frontier, increasing the options available. More options potentially create the opportunity for more income. The limitations with human capital and PPC are that a woman who is channeled by her religion and cultural norms cannot be adequately measured because she has placed value in those religious determinants. For example, if a woman is devout in her religion and is channeled into a subservient role her PPC, and even her human capital, are not at its optimum market potential. Prejudice Preferences Taste discrimination is a concept derived by Gary Becker. His concept translates notion of prejudice into the language of economics, which provides a measurement for discrimination. If an employer has a prejudice against a qualified worker and chooses not to hire that skilled worker, then he is blind to the marginal utility that is gained from employing a skilled worker. If the employer is prejudice to females and he has the option of hiring either a female or a male with the same qualifications. The wage rate for the male worker is 𝑤𝑚 and the wage rate for the female is 𝑤𝑓 . If the employer holds a prejudice against a female worker, he has disutility with respect to hiring the female worker. In other words, even though it only costs 𝑤𝑓 dollars to hire the female worker for 1 hour of work, to the employer it costs 𝑤𝑓 (1 + 𝑑)dollars. 𝑑 Is a positive number and is called the discrimination coefficient. The discrimination co-efficient gives a Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 14 percentage markup in the cost of hiring the female worker and thus is attributable to the employer's discrimination. The greater the prejudice the greater the disutility in hiring that person and the greater is the discrimination co-efficient 𝑑. On the other hand, some employers prefer to hire specific persons. For example, an employer is female and prefers to only hire females. This type of behavior is called nepotism. This type of behavior implies that, to the employer, it is cheaper to hire the female rather than a qualifying male. The employer is then blind to the qualifications of the other potential worker. Just like above we will denote the wage rate with 𝑤. The employer's utility-adjusted cost of hiring the favored worker equals 𝑤𝑓 (1 − 𝑛)dollars. 𝑛 denotes the nepotism coefficient and is a negative number. Becker's taste discrimination definition can be applied to other types of discriminative interactions. For instance, Hispanic workers might prefer only to work with Hispanic workers and LDS customers might dislike purchasing goods and services from non-LDS sellers. If a Hispanic worker's wage equals 𝑤ℎ , then when she is working with another Hispanic worker she will act as if her wage equals 𝑤ℎ (1 + 𝑑), where 𝑑 (discrimination coefficient) is a positive number. The Hispanic worker then perceives her take home pay to be greater than it is. Similarly, if a prejudiced LDS customer made a purchase from a non-LDS seller then she acts as if the price of the goods is not equal to 𝑝 dollars, but instead equals 𝑝(1 + 𝑑). The customers purchase is perceived to cost more than it did. The discrimination coefficient monetizes prejudice regardless whether the source of the prejudice is employer or the customer. Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 15 The Overcrowding Hypothesis Economists have considered occupational segregation by sex to be a major determinant of the of the gender wage gap. In 1974, neoclassical economist Barbara Bergmann introduced the concept of "overcrowding" to explain occupational segregation by sex. Occupational discrimination leads women to certain parts of the labor market and to certain types of professions. These types are characterized as "female" because they are thought to be connected to the female nature. The surplus labor supply in these areas combined with the lower demand for female employment pushes wages down and widens the gender wage gap. Because women tend to concentrate on certain sectors that are characterized by "low" productivity and are laborintensive, the wage is decreasing even further. Bergmann introduced the subject of exclusion that women face because of the discrimination in labor markets, which is their unequal access in the different types of professions. For example, the largest industries in Utah are construction, education, and the restaurant & food services, followed by manufacturing-transportation and healthcare services (BLS, 2017). Of these fields education, healthcare, and restaurant and food services have the highest concentrations of female employees (Statistics, 2017), matching the national concentration averages of over 60percent (Ariane Hegewisch, 2018). According to the national Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational segregation by sex is similar across the states. Institutional Approach to Discrimination Another approach to discrimination that exists in the labor markets is the comparative approach of the institutions, to which the differences in wages are not a result of differences in productivity but are the result of social and institutional effects, such as the structure and the Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 16 working of the labor markets and the differing value of professions in the society. In addition, the institutional context in which the wages are determined includes other characteristics such as the system of wage protection and the system of collective negotiation that may affect the pay gap. These theories present a response to the neoclassical theories that presented the individual characteristics and the personal choice as the only factor behind differences in wages. Segmented Labor Market Theory According to institutional economists, in order to understand the discrimination that certain social groups face, we have to consider the specific socio-economic traits and circumstances that might affect employees' choices and abilities. The labor market is divided into separate markets according to specific characteristics of the employees. Segmented labor market theory shows the labor market as a collection of segments and distinguishes between primary and secondary labor markets, a distinction between formal and informal sectors. The primary market consists of educated workers with high skills and with the prospect of internal promotion. The secondary market is characterized by short term employment relationships with little or no prospect of internal promotion. Under this theory, some groups of workers are restricted to secondary labor market jobs. These workers are paid low wages based on the jobs they do. Therefore, labor market disadvantage is not due to the workers' characteristics but due to the characteristics of the jobs the workers do. Labor productivity is not perceived as individual attributes of the employee but as a result of characteristics of the job position. The two markets are different in regard to wages, the employment environment, the stability of the employment, and training and development opportunities. The main market has high skilled workers, higher wages, and opportunities for advancement in the business hierarchy. Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 17 In contrast, the workers in the secondary labor market are unskilled, have low wages, and are only offered horizontal position movement. The leading cause of discrimination is the hiring policies of the employers. Those policies are used as basic criteria that give the expectations of the employment which keep the costs of training low. Within this context women are thought to interrupt their employment due to family reasons, thus they are not preferred by employers (Davidson, 2018). This means women are facing obstacles to advance their careers because they are discriminated against based on their sex and the stereotypes of their gender. The segmented labor market theory indicates that women tend to concentrate on the secondary labor market because of their interrupted labor. Institutional economists believe that the labor market disadvantages are structural, meaning the disadvantages are built into the institutions of the economy. Because of this fault in the structure, effort needs to be put into tackling low pay and poor working conditions of the secondary labor market jobs. Institutional economists say that competition alone will not do this, nor will competition remove the barriers that keep secondary market workers from advancing into better jobs. Institutionalists would likely advocate government intervention in terms of promoting affirmative action and applying equal pay legislation. Theory of Occupational Segregation Occupational segregation is the distribution of workers across and within occupations, based upon demographic characteristics, most often gender. Occupational segregation levels differ on a basis of perfect segregation and integration. Perfect segregation occurs where any given occupation employs only one group. Perfect integration, on the other hand, occurs where Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 18 each group holds the same proportion of positions in an occupation as that group holds in the labor force. Studies show that occupational segregation is likely caused by gender-based discrimination. Gender based discrimination occurs in patterns, either across occupations or within the hierarchy of occupations. This type of discrimination contributes to the gender wage gap. Table 2 (Ariane Hegewisch, 2018) shows the percentage of women in different occupations, their weekly earnings, and women's earnings as a percentage of men's earnings by occupation. From the table we can see a high concentration of women in secretarial and administration, healthcare, and education occupations. Despite the concentration in these fields, women earnings are still lower than men. Table 3 shows the 20 most common occupations for men. Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah Table 2. The Gender Wage Gap in the 20 Most Common Occupations for Women (Full-Time Workers Only), 2017 19 Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah Table 3. The Wage Gap in the 20 Most Common Occupations for Men (Full-Time Workers Only), 2017 20 Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 21 Utah and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints "A ghetto exists in Utah, not a ghetto of race, not a ghetto of place, but a ghetto of female "pink collar" jobs where most working women congregate." (Langston, 1989) Brief History of the LDS church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), was formed by Joseph Smith in April 1830 in western New York. The church originated in a society that was conservative and patriarchal. It formed during a time that most families where built around farming lifestyles, both men and women worked on the farm. Families back then normally consisted of the father as the head of the house, and the wife who reared the children and maintained the household. If these families lived on the farm, then everyone who was able-bodied worked on the farm. With the industrial revolution and as international trade expanded, agricultural life decreased, and men, more and more, took on paid jobs (wage hours), leaving women at home maintaining the household and rearing the children. This was a transition found throughout the United States. The importance of the family is seen in the LDS church as a fundamental order. This is true in society at large, but particularly within the LDS culture. These practices from generations ago were widely accepted and are ingrained into the society. President Jimmy Carter pointed out in his 2009 speech to the Parliament of World Religions, this view of gender inferiority is not limited to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints but is predominated in many religions. These cultural norms existing in society at the time and start of the church, nearly 200 years ago, were widely accepted for hundreds of years previously. Even though society today, Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 22 nationally and worldwide, is expanding into a more equal state amongst genders, those who practice a religion still share those same mindsets today as from generations ago. LDS doctrine contains a predominant message of the importance of family and home, which is maintained by the head of the household, the husband. The woman supports the husband and the church with her due diligence in the home. In the LDS church women are regarded as sacred compliments to men and are necessary to the fulfillment of the operation of the church. Since the start of the religion in 1830, women have held subservient roles which are deemed necessary and of divine design according to LDS doctrine (Saints, n.d.). Even though society has changed, creating more equalized roles among men and women, those who practice the faith must abide by the divine roles and purposes of the church. These roles and purposes for men and women differ compared to what contemporary society indicates for men and women. "Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife... as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything" (Smith, 1835). "[Women] qualify in two vocations-that of homemaking, and that of preparing a living outside the home, if and when the occasion requires. A married woman may become a widow without warning…. Thus, a woman may be under the necessity of earning her own living and helping to support her dependent children" (Kimball, March 1977). Women are a necessary part of the plan of the church and the intentions of the Holy Father. Women participate in the work of salvation helping new believers and the current church body, under the head of the priesthood. Women must stand strong and immovable in faith, in family, and in relief (Women in the Church, 2016). Women by divine nature have the great responsibility for home and child Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 23 nurturing, in and out of the home. Women can teach in the Sunday schools, primary and young women's groups, but do not teach in the main service. The Influence of the LDS Church in Utah Cultures that are heavily influenced by religion stress a more subdued female role, primarily a domestic role. In many of the world's historical religious texts, women are deemed as man's subordinate. "This view that the Almighty considers women to be inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or tradition" (Carter J. , 2009). This influence doesn't stop within the walls of the religion it is practiced in but is ingrained into the culture and society. This view of gender subordination is likely more prominent in places where more of the population is religious. In these places, men may view women as inferior. The LDS church has over 6.5 million members (Membership, 2018) and of those members over 50 percent are considered active. Utah has over 2.3 million citizens and of those citizens 62.64 percent are considered as LDS (Canham, 2014). Analyzing the Connection between LDS Culture Influences in Utah and Economic Theory Women's own belief systems may play a role in constraining social equity. It is quite plausible, for example, that a woman who interprets the word of God literally will take no issue with a lesser role and will not consider reducing social inequality. Women who have internalized religious institutions might accept lower incomes as God's will and men who have also internalized religious institutions will channel the superiority (divine right) as determined by Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 24 God. The economic theories we reviewed earlier cannot fully define the gender wage gap phenomena nor can they fully attribute the impact of the LDS religion on the gender wage gap, because a large portion of the gender wage gap determinants aren't quantifiable. But we can certainly do our best to analyze using these economic tools. Gender Wage Gap in Utah Ideologies, Institutions, and Religion are major factors in shaping societies in which economic activities play out. The economic system (Gruchy 1987; Anna Zachorowskas-Maurkiewicz 207) is only a sub system to the larger social machine. Utah has one of the highest employment population ratios. In 2017 the Utah population was at 2.3 million, with 67.2 percent employed, that is 1.5 million people employed and 49 percent female (BLS, 2017). The median family household income in Utah, 2017, was $68,940 ( (Numbers, 2017). The median annual income for a woman who holds a full-time, year-round job is $36,060 while median annual pay for a man who holds a full-time, year-round job is $50,741 (National, 2017). This means women in Utah are paid 71 cents for every dollar paid to men. Utah has the largest gender wage gap in America, according a study by the American Association of University Women. Other studies over the past decade have Utah with the highest gender wage gap, ranking in 4th to 1st place. On average women in Utah make 70 cents on the dollar compared with men. (AAUW 2015) That is a 30-cent gap, while the average wage gap across America is 23 cents. There are many elements that are claimed to be causing the gender wage gap such as outright discrimination, variations in education and experience, demographic and geographic factors, or that the wage gap exists as a byproduct of the choices Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 25 women make. However the causes of the gender wage gap are framed, the wage gap exists. Decades of evidence reveal a complicated story and reveal it is more than just choice. The gender wage gap is a real and persistent story, woven by all the factors. The wage gap in Utah is wide for many reasons. First, women in Utah have more children compared to the rest of the nation, averaging 2.4 children per household under the age of 18 to that of the national average of 1.86 per household (BLS). Having children, especially more children, leads to absences from work, which hurts tenure and experience. The Family: A Proclamation to the World teaches that the family is ordained of God. "Families are central to our Heavenly Father's plan here on earth and through the eternities," Elder Andersen said. "After Adam and Eve were joined in marriage, the scripture reads, ‘And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.' In our day prophets and apostles have declared, ‘The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force." (Church, 2019) As an active member of the LDS church members would have a desire to uphold the doctrine of their religion, which is to have many children. This is ingrained into the members and thus the culture. The decision to have more children, which affects job productivity is explained by the neoclassical theories of human capital and the production possibility curve (see page 11). These theories imply that it is the individual choices made that have aggregated affect in causing the gender wage gap. If we hold these theories to be true, then we can compare the Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 26 national average of child birth to the average child birth in Utah and can see that the increased child rearing correlates to the wider gender wage gap. Second, women in Utah tend to concentrate in certain occupations, which are lower paying. Over 35 percent of women employed in Utah work part time (Statistics, 2017) rather than full time. Choosing part time employment can be linked to gender roles. If you have more children, then more time is required for their nurture and thus a part time job is more feasible. According to LDS doctrine women are encouraged to have more children and are encouraged to nurture them. If you hold these values to be true, having been taught them within your culture or society, you would not be merely making the choice but have been channeled into your choice of job. From a young age, women within the LDS culture are taught to nurture, care, and love beyond themselves, which is not a new teaching: "I will now ask the sisters; do you believe that you are worthy of any greater love than you bestow upon your children? Do you believe that you should be beloved by your husbands and parents any further than you acknowledge and practice the principle of eternal lives? Every person who understands this principle would answer in a moment, "Let no being's affections be placed upon me any further than mine are on eternal principles that are calculated to endure and exalt me, and bring me up to be an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ." This is what every person who has a correct understanding would say." (Young, n.d.) Holding these teachings as true, a woman would choose jobs that emphasize nurture and care. If the majority of women are choosing the same jobs, then there is a concentration of women in those jobs. Unfortunately, most jobs in education and healthcare are low paying (BLS, 2017). This trend is exactly what the neoclassical theory of overcrowding says that gender role discrimination is what leads women to concentrate into similar jobs. Neoclassical economists analyze the productivity that results from personal decisions. Women are choosing the same Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 27 common jobs, i.e. teaching and nursing. In the teaching field, only 29 percent are men while women hold the other 71 percent (BLS, 2017). The overcrowding hypothesis explains occupational segregation by sex. Occupational discrimination leads women to certain parts of the labor market and to certain types of professions. These types are characterized as "female" because they are thought to be connected to the female nature. Female nature, as taught by the LDS church, is caring and nurturing. The surplus labor supply in these areas combined with the lower demand for female employment pushes wages down and widens the gender wage gap. LDS members are taught and channeled into thinking they have different roles ordained by God, specifically women are taught to be caring and nurturing. This is a possible explanation of why women are more concentrated in education and healthcare roles as opposed to management jobs, which are higher paying (BLS 2017). Third, women in Utah are less likely to get higher education than the national average (BLS, 2017). In Utah men are earning 3.2 percent more college degrees than women, which is the opposite of the nationwide trend where women are earning 4.6 percent more degrees than men. 31 percent of the American females, 25 and older, have a bachelor's degree (Statistics, 2017), while only 19.2 percent of the female population in Utah, 25 and older, have a bachelor's degree. It is possible to correlate this behavior to the teachings of the LDS church, which encourages family development and strongly encourages women to focus on their family (divine nature) and thus not encouraging a need for higher education. Why would you need a bachelor's degree or higher if your purpose in life is to fulfill God's role for you, in that you are to grow and nurture children? Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 28 The greatest mission of woman is to give life, earth-life, through honorable marriage, to the waiting spirits, our Father's spirit children who anxiously desire to come to dwell here in this mortal state. All the honor and glory that can come to men and women … is but a dim thing whose luster shall fade in comparison to the high honor, the eternal glory, the ever-enduring happiness that shall come to the woman who fulfils the first great duty and mission that devolves upon her to become the mother of the sons and daughters of God. (Ballard, 1949) The neoclassical theory of human capital explains the choices made to not proceed with higher education. Becker concludes that women are less productive than men because they have different intentions than on developing human capital. We see this in the teachings of the LDS church, which teaches women to focus on family and not on job productivity. These are the cultural norms, channeling women for the home life, channeling women to focus on family rearing and development. Women's groups in Utah are working to offset this educational trend and pushing to empower women to choose more than just what they have been channeled to choose. Occupational segregation is the distribution of workers across and within occupations, based upon demographic characteristics, most often gender. Gender discrimination as it pertains to occupational segregation means that men and women, specifically women are being segregated into different occupations and choices. The trend is women are segregated into lower paying positions and occupations. The theory of occupational segregation economically explains the gender discrimination issue as it pertains to occupation segregation. Employers are tending to choose male workers over female workers. This behavior is both outright and subconscious discrimination. The teachings of the LDS church help to explain why there is segregation between the genders within occupations. As the heads of households and members of the divine priesthood, men choose higher paying degrees and higher paying occupations. If all the men are Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 29 heading into the same fields, then they are segregating and integrating into those concentrations. (see Table 2 and Table 3 for the most common fields men and women choose). The LDS church teaches men and women are created differently with different intentions and different roles. Thus, there is a correlation between the teachings of the LDS church and the theory of occupational segregation. This trend is the cultural norm and thus permeates the culture and society in Utah. Conclusion The traditional elements, such as education, occupation, and work experience, only explain the gender wage gap to a certain extent. To account for Utah having the biggest wage gap, it is possible the religious culture of the area has an influence. Becker's explanation of human capital, prejudice preferences, and the institutional approach of discrimination only explain the gender wage gap to a certain extent, because these theories can only be applied to the quantifiable factors (education, experience, occupational choice, etc.) Across the nation, comparing full time employed men and women, only 60 percent of the wage gap can be attributed to known factors, (Blau and Kahn 2007) such as occupational choice, differences in wages paid by industries that employ mostly men (such as mining and construction), and labor force experience. In Utah relationship status, education, occupation and industry choices are key factors in the wage gap (Weinstein, 2015). Most studies run regressions that control for those key factors (education, experience, occupation, etc.) while the dependent variable is the difference in wages between men and women. Results indicate to what extent each of the factors play a role in affecting the gender wage gap. However, the regression holds Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 30 error terms that indicate other variables that have not be accounted for, and thus shows that only a certain percent of the gender wage gap is explained. About eight percent of the gap is attributed to discrimination - this is for the national gender wage gap (Ariane Hegewisch, 2018). In Utah, discrimination is considered the most important factor that prevents women from earning as much as men (Weinstein, 2015). In part because of the cultural issues where men have dominated leadership roles and women tend to concentrate in the same fields that are lower paying (teaching and nursing). In a state so prevalently religious those regressions and their error terms indicate a failing of fully explaining the gender wage gap; indicating the wage gap is not limited to those key explanatory variables. The economic theories that were reviewed earlier in this paper (neoclassical and institutional theories) are good, but are still limited, in explaining how the key factors affect the gender wage gap. The explanation is limited because culture norms and religious participation do not stop at the doors of the church but permeate the culture and the society. The key factors are influenced by the culture norms. Because you can't separate the influence of culture, the economic theories (neoclassical and institutional) are limited in the light they shed into this vast convoluted issue. Although each of these economic theories, and the data which can be displayed as an attempt to prove them in practice, are insufficient in concretely determining a distinct cause of the gender wage gap, the correlation of the results demonstrates sufficiently that the gender wage gap is caused by various measurable and immeasurable factors when observed in tandem with a range of the population and results in a significant difference in how men and women are paid their wages. Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 31 There need to be more studies on the effects of religion on societal inequalities, such as the gender wage gap. The majority of economic theories explain issues as they pertain to income or output productivity; these are the agreed upon measurements. Perhaps a study that measures women's productivity in the household or study that compares household productivity between men and women may add another level to understanding the gender wage gap and can then be applied to other societal inequalities. It is of note is that people have individual goals and levels of achievements, so additional studies that take into account individual choice and controls for the key factors will offer additional insight. A 2015 study by Matthew Weinstein and Curtis Miller indicates that discrimination is the largest contributor to the gender wage gap in Utah. Their study indicates that there is a significant and growing gap between men's and women's measurable qualifications and characteristics. There study measured the effects of education choices, relationship status, occupational choice and industry choices have on the gender wage gap. Indicating that discrimination exists in these factors, which heavily influences the gender wage gap. They measured discrimination using the endowment effect and the returns effect. "We recommend policymakers consider the following: pursue policies that seek to end direct wage discrimination such as enhanced salary transparency as well as increased public awareness; investigate methods to improve women's educational attainment and occupational and industrial distribution; and address workplace and other practices and policies that have a disparate impact on women by making it more difficult to balance work or education with family responsibilities." (Weinstein, 2015) Exploring the Gender Wage Gap in Utah 32 References Ariane Hegewisch, M. E.-B. (2018). The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation 2017 and by Race and Ethnicity. Institute for Women's Policy Research. Retrieved from https://iwpr.org/publications/gender-wage-gap-occupation-2017-race-ethnicity/ Ballard, M. J. (1949). Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard. In B. S. Hinckley. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co. BLS. 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