I can't say this surprises me too much.

New research published in the Academy of Management Journal indicates that religion perpetuates the gender wage gap. The findings provide evidence that men tend to earn significantly more than women in societies with heightened religiosity.

“Management researchers have called religion ‘a benign and positive force in business.’ Because of that, we are seeing these policies that let religion in, but when you look at the management literature with a fine-tooth comb, there has been no scrutiny of religion and gender attitudes,” said Traci Sitzmann, an associate professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver and the corresponding author of the new study.

“I think it’s a little ironic that we haven’t questioned if there could be some negative implications for letting religion into the workplace.”

For their research, Sitzmann and her colleague, Elizabeth M. Campbell, examined data from the Human Development Report, Gallup Incorporated, and other sources. This allowed them to analyze not only the relationship between the gender wage gap and religiosity in 140 countries, but also test for potential mechanisms behind the relationship.