Is there a bonus bias on Wall Street?

Financial writer Shelby White posed an interesting question to the wise girls at wowOwow.com, and we wish to ask the same question to the smart and savvy readers at WalletPop:

Is there a bonus bias on Wall Street?
White argues that although it's hard to find statistical data that lays out bonuses by gender, there's proof that women on Wall Street earn just 55.4% of what men on the same Street do.

The New York Times recently reported that women remain the "minority" on Wall Street. And typically women will reach mid-manager level positions in finance companies before calling it quits in their 30s... Why? No one really know for sure, but some suspect it has to do with the cut-throat environment and long hours for what the women believed wasn't enough pay. Also, the work-balance sitch on Wall Street is rather dire. Women reach their mid-30s and start hearing their biological clocks ticking ... just as their careers are kicking into overdrive, demanding more of the time and energy.

If indeed it's the men who receive a heftier share come bonus time, perhaps one of the reasons is because they are more vocal about their performance in the workplace. According to a recent study out of the University of New Mexico, women workers over the age of 50 underestimated how they thought their bosses felt about their job performance and skills. Men, on the other hand, overestimated...

Tell us in the comments section below: Do you think there is a bonus bias on Wall Street? If so, why? Or have you experienced any biases at your workplace?

wowOwow.com is a Web site aimed at influential women over 40, much like its distinguished founders and contributors, which include Marlo Thomas, Lesley Stahl, Candice Bergen, Liz Smith, Joni Evans, Mary Wells and Whoopi Goldberg.