[superjambo]

I think it would be because women tend to value the economic worth of potential mates more than men value the economic worth of potential mates.

So any man choosing higher discomfort for more pay isn't just getting more money he's also improving his chance of finding a mate.

Meanwhile women have a smaller incentive to take discomfort since they will not get the compensation of enhanced attractiveness.

[rmc]

Except that most of the high paying jobs aren't physically discomforting (e.g. sitting in a nice office all day), and there are loads of jobs that are poorly paying that are very uncomfortable (prostitution, cleaning toilets, etc.).

So your theory doesn't match reality.

[superjambo]

Sorry I was not talking about physical discomfort but all negative aspects of a job. Men have a greater incentive to seek high pay & status at the price of longer commute / longer hours.

Women do not in my experience value pay as highly and consider the (non-monetary) costs more carefully than men.

[malandrew]

The job someone earns at the end isn't discomforting, but getting to the point where you deserve that job based on merit and acquired skills is more discomforting. A four year engineering degree is far more "discomforting" than a four year sociology degree.