Some people explain away the gender pay gap by arguing that women get paid less than men because they aren't aggressive enough with pay negotiations. But a new Australian study found women do ask for raises about as often as men do. They just don't get them as often.
The researchers first laid out the conventional wisdom: "Women's lower propensity to negotiate over salaries, raises, or promotions could reduce their pay relative to men's," they wrote. "The observed gender difference could reflect social factors, including women being socialized to feel that they are being pushy or overbearing."
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Further debunking the whole women-are-too-docile argument, men seemed more concerned about keeping the peace in the office than women were. While 14.6 percent of men decided not to request a raise because they were afraid of "negatively impacting their workplace environment," only 12.9 percent of women held back over the same polite concerns.