A study has found that women who are 'nasty' and 'assertive' are paid more at work. The research carried out on 375 men and women by Tel Aviv University in Israel, found that women who are more dominant and assertive are on average paid higher, than women who are 'nicer' and 'more agreeable'.
The research also found that men who are similarly less dominant also get paid less than their more assertive counterparts, however women who are authorative are on average still paid less than all men, agreeable or dominant.
The study's co-author, Professor Sharon Stoker said: 'Some professional women are still afraid to exhibit a trait that's incongruent with presumed notions of female character. The result is financial retribution.'
Fellow researcher Dr Michal Biron also commented: 'We found that women aren't aware that more agreeable women are being punished for being nice. The nice women we polled in our study even believed they were earning more than they deserved.'
The study highlights the huge issues surrounding the gender pay gap and what can be done to narrow it, and emphasises the culture of negative, shaming commentary towards women that is prevalent in both the work place and the media. Do you really have to be 'nasty' to succeed at work? I hope not, but perhaps that makes me one of the 'nice' people...
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.