Women looking to succeed in the business world may still have to work a little harder than men, one business leader said.
"The workplace is still not easy for women," said Jennie Gorrell, who will become president of Arizona Business and Professional Women this week. "Maybe the glass ceiling is getting higher, but it's still there."
ABPW is part of a national non-profit organization that lobbies for gender equality in the workplace, Gorrell said.
One of the biggest issues is the wage gap that continues to exist between men and women, Gorrell said.
Women still make only about 75 cents for every dollar a man earns, for the same job she said.
"It fluctuates, but that's still accurate," she said.
But management professor, Marianne Jennings, said she doesn't believe women get paid less for doing the same job.
"It isn't true," she said. "It never was true really."
This year's graduates will all be entering a very good job market regardless of gender, she said.
"If you have a good presence, good grades and maturity, the sky is the limit for this year -- for everyone, men or women," Jennings said. "Business is business. If people are good, they don't care if they're coneheads."
Contrary to popular belief, Jennings said women may have an advantage over men as they enter the workforce.
"Women tend to be more highly recruited so they may actually have higher salaries than men," she said.
Still, a major obstacle that many workingwomen face is the struggle to work while raising a family, Gorrell said.
"Women seem to have more to juggle," she said. "It's harder to travel and do those things when you have a family."
But Jennings said the juggling act is becoming easier for women.
"I think [women] have the confidence to say, 'I can take this time out because my career will always be there,'" she said.
Gorrell said she thinks complete equality can eventually be achieved.
"We're still living in a world that's governed by men's rules," she said. "I think eventually we'll achieve total equality. People think we have now, but we haven't."
Business junior Kirsten Coffer said she is very concerned with gender equality in the workplace.
Women who have the same skills as men should have a chance at the same jobs as well, Coffer said.
"I don't see why we should be penalized because we're females," she said.
Coffer works at a restaurant in Scottsdale where she said the majority of the women outperform the men.
She said the threat of discrimination motivates her to do better.
"I think it makes me work harder," she said. "I have a good, solid work ethic."
Reach the reporter at kelsey.perry@asu.edu.
