Rastogi - Gender inequalities at work are inevitable. Human capital theory. Human capital is skills, ability, knowledge, competency, and experience related to work. Men are more work-oriented than women, who choose to prioritize family and homemaking over their careers. This means men gain more human capital while women take breaks from their career (where they lose human capital). This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby men become more valued in work, giving them more confidence, while women feel less confident in work and take lower-status, lower-paid positions.