This study presents framing as a tool that influences how individuals address gender inequity by shaping how individuals attribute causes for gender pay gap. Across two experiments (N = 1652), current study explores how gender pay inequity framed as “Men are paid more”, “Women are paid less”, and neutral framings influence how individuals address the issue. We look at how people respond when they are asked to adjust for actual salaries for male and female employees (Study 1) and also when asked to indicate level of support towards policies that increase women’s pay vs. decrease men’s pay (Study 2). Results across two studies show that framing leads people to make more internal attributions about men as causes for the pay gap between male and female. Moreover, the two studies also show t...[ Read more ]

This study presents framing as a tool that influences how individuals address gender inequity by shaping how individuals attribute causes for gender pay gap. Across two experiments (N = 1652), current study explores how gender pay inequity framed as “Men are paid more”, “Women are paid less”, and neutral framings influence how individuals address the issue. We look at how people respond when they are asked to adjust for actual salaries for male and female employees (Study 1) and also when asked to indicate level of support towards policies that increase women’s pay vs. decrease men’s pay (Study 2). Results across two studies show that framing leads people to make more internal attributions about men as causes for the pay gap between male and female. Moreover, the two studies also show that individuals address the pay gap by adjusting for women’s pay while pay for male employees is not significantly affected. Results also reveal several inconsistencies between the two studies. We discuss these findings and conclude by discussing the implications and future directions for the current study.

Keywords: Gender inequity; Gender pay gap; Framing effect; Internal/external attribution