The Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Busts the Wage Gap Myth

I often get asked the same question in interviews — “Why did you become an author?” If the question is asked in a print or radio interview, I trot out the same canned response like a well-trained pony.

But if the question is asked in a TV interview…I am in trouble.

I am in trouble because anyone with two eyes can see when I am lying.

So here’s the truth. I became an author because of the wage gap.

No, it wasn’t because I was paid less than the men in my advertising agency. Wage discrimination is not the smoking gun feminists continue to arm themselves with.

The real reason is I wanted to be a mother.

But I also wanted a career. And while companies today are beginning to offer a more sustainable work/life balance, most corporations still expect at least a 40-hour work week.

So, like many women who wanted it all but knew I couldn’t have it all, I was willing (and financially fortunate enough) to trade a lower salary for flexible hours. Writing books…