Maybe Time Out of the Office Doesn't Explain It

The classic argument about why women earn less than men doing the same job goes something like: While they may be doing the same job, they are more likely to have taken time off from their careers to start a family. And that deficit of years of experience accounts for the pay gap.

This data from the US labor department argues otherwise, unless experience matters far more in manufacturing than in construction (which is counter intuitive, even accounting for union-based seniority rules).