Higher ed official from Naples defends 'genetics' comment on gender pay gap
Annika Hammerschlag
A Naples higher education official is defending himself after criticism over his suggestion the gender pay gap is due to “genetics."
Edward Morton, a member of the State University System of Florida board, was responding to data presented to the board Tuesday. That data showed female graduates of Florida schools make, on average, $5,500 less than male graduates.
Morton’s comments about the role of genetics drew the attention of national media outlets, including The Washington Post. He said his comments Tuesday were "taken out of context."
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“Something we’re doing in Naples in some of our high school students,” Morton said at the meeting earlier this week, “we’re actually talking about incorporating negotiating and negotiating skill into curriculum so that the women are given — maybe some of it is genetic, I don’t know, I’m not smart enough to know the difference — but I do know that negotiating skills can be something that can be honed, and we can improve.
“Perhaps we can address that in all of our various curriculums through the introduction of negotiating skill and maybe that would have a bearing on these things as well.”
Morton also agreed with board member Norm Tripp, who said he suspected women going into lower-salaried education jobs might be a reason for the gap.
“I think (a college) degree does have a great deal to do with this,” Morton said.
The report found the gender pay gap persisted within fields of study. Data showed women earned at least $1,100 less than men in 18 of the 28 fields evaluated. In one third of the overall fields considered, women earned upwards of $4,000 less than men. The gap was most pronounced in agriculture and liberal arts and sciences, where women earned $9,400 and $9,000, respectively, less than men.
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Gov. Rick Scott’s spokeswoman Lauren Schenone responded in an email to a request for comment on Morton's statements.
“As a father of two daughters, the Governor absolutely does not agree with this statement,” Schenone wrote.
Scott appointed Morton to the board in 2013. Eleven of the 15 State University System board members are men, nine of whom were appointed by Scott. He also appointed three women.
In an interview, Morton told the Daily News on Thursday that he thought his comments were “misconstrued.”
“Very simply, it was posed as a question,” Morton said. “I don’t know what the cause is, but it’s a gap that has to be addressed."
“One of the things I’ve learned in all the years I’ve worked with people is that men tend to be more aggressive than women," he said. "I wondered out loud whether negotiating skills would help close the gap.”
When asked whether he thought sexism might have played a role, Morton said, “I don’t know what the cause is.”
Later, Morton said he thought the gap was due to a combination of factors, “whether it’s a pattern that has persisted for years, whether it’s lack of negotiating skills or women not being as aggressive in negotiating as men."
“It requires a lot of analysis and a lot of very careful thought to narrow that gap to zero as quickly as we possible can,” he said, “and I’m going to do everything I can to close that gap.”
In the 10 categories in which women were paid more than men, the report found gaps were far more narrow, with women earning an average of $1,990 more than men.
The report also found black graduates earned $3,500 less than the average $39,100 for all graduates. This discrepancy persisted within fields of study in nine of the 10 largest fields.