Women Earn Less, Even in Own Businesses.

• Position: Brief Article

Women who hope to break the glass ceiling by starting their own business at home may be in for an unpleasant shock. A review of research on home-based businesses showed that females who work from home still earn less than their male counterparts. In one study, for example, men working from home earned an average of $45.29 an hour; women, $17.29.

Women earned less money than men even when they were in the same occupations, worked the same number of hours, and used the same management practices, points out Kathryn Stafford, associate professor of consumer sciences at Ohio State University's College of Human Ecology, Columbus. Men worked more hours a year than did women--1,750 vs. 1,350--but that wasn't the reason for the gender pay gap. Females earned about $28 less per hour than males in gross earnings.

Women owners of home-based businesses have some disadvantages that may be hurting their earnings. For instance, they are likely to own businesses that are labor-intensive, but are operating with only one or two employees. Men's home-based businesses are more likely to have either paid employees or family assistance. In addition, while research indicates females tend to have more experience than males in the field in which they...