[tomp]

I think a lot of it has to do with sexual competition. Men know that women are (in general) attracted to power, so they spend effort on earning money and becoming more powerful. Conversely, women know that men are attracted to beauty and youth, so they spend time and money on trying to look younger and prettier.

[nwah1]

Another very valid point. Different preferences naturally lead to different outcomes.

Invoking discrimination as the first explanation for any discrepancies is a way to debase the concept of discrimination.

Proper studies of this sort try to isolate variables by, for instance, submitting identical resumes except for the gender.

[zardgiv]

Is there a citation for women in general being attracted to power? Or perhaps you're just reinforcing gender stereotypes that are convenient for the narrative you're spinning?

[tomp]

Not trying to spin a narrative (I don't have an agenda), this is just based on my personal observations, both of people around me, and the society as a whole (famous people, media, movies, ...).

[zardgiv]

I mean, when you say that "women (in general) are attracted to [X]," since youre ralking about half of the world's population, that's a pretty extraordinary claim and requires extraordinary evidence to support it.

[tomp]

I guess it's more like a working hypothesis, based on the (circumstantial and anecdotal) evidence that I've collected so far. It's by no means enough evidence, so I'm open to changing my opinion (given conflicting evidence).