Originally found at The Salt Lake Tribune, by Becky Jacobs.

The gender wage gap is closing at a slower rate in Utah and other states considered to be more religious than in more secular states.

But there are ways to fix that, researchers say, and the remedies start by being aware that piety can affect pay.

Each of the six major world religions — Buddhism, Christianity, Folk, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism — promotes differentiated gender roles for men and women, which shape social norms, including in the workplace, according to “The Hidden Cost of Prayer: Religiosity and the Gender Wage Gap,” published in October in the Academy of Management Journal.

“It’s not that one religion is better or worse, with respect to the gender wage gap. ... It’s just whether religion is crucial to people’s day-to-day,” said Elizabeth M. Campbell, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Work and Organizations, who co-wrote the study with University of Colorado Denver associate professor Traci Sitzmann.

Continue reading the original article at The Salt Lake Tribune.

Read the original research in Academy of Management Journal.

Also read this AOM Insights summary citing this research.

Learn more about the AOM Scholars and explore their work:

• Traci Sitzmann, University of Colorado
• Elizabeth M. Campbell, University of Minnesota