But the fact that women face these barriers doesn't justify the pay gap. It only shows how the workforce is still structured as if men are the only people working . “We know that the workforce has changed so much and that women make up more than 50% of the workforce,” says Mason. “But we still act like this is the 1950s, where men are the primary breadwinner.” Unless the solution is to expect no one to have and raise children, it’s on employers to provide better paid family leave and flexible work for both men and women.