The "women negotiate less" theory is just one of many. I don't think it is actually accurate. For example engineers used to be notorious for being bad at negoti

The "women negotiate less" theory is just one of many. I don't think it is actually accurate. For example engineers used to be notorious for being bad at negotiation and accepting underpaid jobs. Bookshelves in bookshops used to be full of career advice books (when bookshops still existed). So it is not as if men are naturals at it. (Also, women are more expensive for employers, because they have more sick days and are more likely to drop out completely once they have kids). Incentives however are completely different for women. They usually don't have to support a family. At most they have to support themselves if they remain single or childless. So they can choose "nicer" jobs in exchange for lower compensation. They can also simply drop out if they don't like a job or a profession. You can try to stir your daughters in another direction, but a valid question should be "why"? Are you sure it would make them more happy? Many women just decide to study literature, for example. Would they be happier with an engineering degree? Who knows? I personally will try to get my daughter interested, but in the end, it will be her choice. As an example, because I had such a discussion one with a paediatrician and a hospital manager. She was a bit annoyed that colleagues for example from radiology earned more. But it is nicer to work with children all day than to sit in front of machines all day, so more women (most women) choose to work with children. There certainly is nothing preventing women from becoming radiologists, but they simply choose differently. In fact few people choose radiology, so wages re higher due to supply and demand. I also know women who changed from becoming surgeons to some more family friendly specialty. You can not walk away in the middle of surgery to pick up your kids from school. That is not because of discrimination in the profession of surgery, but inherent to the job. Similar for truck driver. How would you make truck driving more family friendly? If you are on the road for a week to deliver goods to the other end of the continent, you won't be able to see your family in between. That is just inherent to the job. However, in the wage gap statistic you will just see "female physicians earn less than male physicians" without accounting for the different specialisations. It is all very misleading.