Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is pretty easy to see if this gender pay gap actually exists.
The basic premise is that women are exactly the same as men, in qualifications, education, experience, etc. and there are in fact NO differences between them other than their sex, and that the women are paid on average 75% of what the men are paid.
If this were true (and it isn't), companies would fire all of their male employees, hire 100% women, and experience an immediate 25% labor savings.
Pretty easy to see that this isn't happening. And it's because the gender pay gap is a myth. Not that there aren't differences in pay, because there are. But the myth is that there are no differences between men and women in the work place other than their sex.
Companies would never do this. The lawsuits would be too expensive.
Companies would never do this. The lawsuits would be too expensive.
My use of the word "immediate" might be a little too optimistic, but the basic principle is still the same. If companies could experience a 25% labor savings by employing women rather than men, you would see, over time, a shift away from male employees to female employees. This is a pretty simple concept to understand.
Great topic and discussion. To stir it further, I was recently thinking about all my friends in college. Almost all of the women have quit their jobs and are now raising babies. Most will never return to their trained field. As a country, what a huge waste of resources for us to send these women to college and not get a lifelong return to society BASED ON EDUCATION. yes we still get a terrific and valuable return as a matriarch and all the social benefits. But it just doesn't seem right. Look at it this way, if I average out my college costs over my career, the cost is $XXX per year. Whereas an equally schooled woman is $XXXX because her career is shorter. of course these are generalities and yes there are exceptions.
Moderator cut: snip I'll bite though. Please enlighten us with the "underlying reasons" why two equally qualified people should be paid differently due to their sex.
Moderator cut: snip you're the one who needs to get specific--"equally qualified?" What does that mean? Education? Experience? Or are you saying that an employer shouldn't consider experience or employment gaps?
There is a lot of "unfairness" in the workplace. Fat people, unattractive people, short men, and so on all get paid less and promoted less often. I don't have a plausible solution, but it all works against our belief in meritocracy. The best way to get ahead is to be a handsome 6'2" white man from a well connected family.
I bet you get out there on the lawnmower, don't you? (please don't tell me you make her cut the grass...)
I've always thought, if women want to be in combat (and most of them really don't) we should have units of ALL WOMEN. Just like shipboard... if women are to be on ships, then staff the entire ship with women. After all, they're as good as men, right? Then you don't have to worry about pregnancies while afloat. Too many times I've seen double standards in military. Let's water down the requirements so women can compete. NO, let the guys go full bore and take the women out of the equation. UGH. You're not doing the guys any service for making them slow down. Might even get them killed.
My Mom mowed the lawn, she did a better job.
And no, they shouldn't water down the requirements for physical military jobs such as combat. Nor should they water down the intellectual jobs just because someone passes a physical.
Look at it this way, if I average out my college costs over my career, the cost is $XXX per year. Whereas an equally schooled woman is $XXXX because her career is shorter.
Most of the women I work with take off 9 weeks to have a baby and return to work. I suspect they will retire later than non-mothers, in order to make up for lifetime expenses of raising child. That argument doesn't really hold water with professional positions.
I also see more and more men take paternity leave, as they should.
It is pretty easy to see if this gender pay gap actually exists.
Headline news yesterday, NY Times: Obama signed a bill to close the pay gap for women. One measure the bill calls for is greater transparency in hiring and assigning salaries. Federal contractors are no longer able to fire employees for sharing salary info with each other. You may not believe it, but the gov't knows it exists, and is taking steps to end it.
There are women on this forum who found out they were getting paid significantly less than newer male hires with less experience for a similar position. Single women with no kids, with no interest in having kids. It happens.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
?