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Why do some women have such a hard time negotiating pay?
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Oct 16, 2015
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Why do some women have such a hard time negotiating pay?
When actress Jennifer Lawrence wrote about why she made less then her male co-stars, the Oscar-winning actress hit a nerve with women from all industries.
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 10:  Actress Jennifer Lawrence attends the "X-Men: Days Of Future Past" world premiere at Jacob Javits Center on May 10, 2014 in New York City.  (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 10: Actress Jennifer Lawrence attends the "X-Men: Days Of Future Past" world premiere at Jacob Javits Center on May 10, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
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Mike Coppola/Getty Images
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When actress Jennifer Lawrence wrote about why she made less then her male co-stars, the Oscar-winning actress hit a nerve with women from all industries.

Jennifer Lawrence tops the Forbes list of highest paid actresses. But when she appeared in the film "American Hustle," she was paid less than her male co-stars, as revealed in last year's Sony hack.

This week, Lawrence posted an essay about it. She said she was angry, not so much at the studio, but at herself, for failing to be a good negotiator. The essay has struck a chord with women across the country in all sorts of professions. 

Iris Bohnet is a professor of Public Policy and is the director of the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School. She said that even though Lawrence didn't want to come off as being "difficult," she shouldn't be so hard on herself.  

"This has more to do with the world that we live in, and the stereotypes and the gender norms that are in our heads, than women and men as negotiators — and that's someone actually saying this who teaches negotiation," said Bohnet.

Bohnet added that it may never be known for sure if this has to do with nature more than nurture. But some research from her colleagues has lead her to a possible explanation. The research involved experiments with the Maasai, a patrilineal society in Tanzania, and the Kasi, a matrilineal society in India.

"It turns out that in competitiveness, the Maasai behave just like Americans. Women compete less than men," she said. "In a matrilineal society in India, the Kasi women were much more competitive ... Surely some of this is nature, but a big part, clearly, is the environment in which we live."

To listen to the full interview, click on the blue audio player above.