Is the Wage Gap Women's Choice?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Research Suggests Career Decisions, Not Sex Bias, Are at Root of Pay Disparity</p>

<p><a href=“Is the Wage Gap Women's Choice? - ABC News”>http://abcnews.go.com/2020/GiveMeABreak/story?id=797045&page=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Activists have convinced some young women that even if they work the same hours, have the same education and do the same type of work, they will be paid less than men.</p>

<p>But how could this be possible? Suppose you’re an employer doing the hiring. If a woman does equal work for 25 percent less money, why would any employer ever hire a man?</p>

<p>…</p>

<p>But author Warren Farrell, who spent about 15 years going over U.S. Census statistics and research studies, said Burk is wrong. Farrell’s research found that the wage gap exists not because of sexism, but because more men are willing to do certain kinds of jobs. “The average full-time working male works more than a full-time working female,” Farrell said.</p>

<p>Farrell illustrates his findings at lectures by asking men and women to stand up in answer to a series of questions about their job choices, such as whether they work more than 40 hours a week, or have held a job that has required them to work outdoors, or if they have 20 years experience in their current occupation.</p>

<p>Again and again, more men stand up.</p>

<p>…</p>

<p>Decades ago, Farrell was a man who joined Gloria Steinem in feminist protests. He’s the only man to have been elected three times to the board of the National Organization for Women. "I used to wear a ‘59 cent’ pin to protest the fact that men earned a dollar for each 59 cents that women earned for the same work. And then I asked myself one day: “If men are earning a dollar, maybe I’ll go out and start an all-female firm and I’ll be able to produce products for 59 cents that male firms are producing for a dollar,” he said.</p>

<p>He came to realize that there’s something wrong with the statistic.</p>

<p>Farrell combed through jobs data and found that higher-paying jobs are more likely to require longer commuting times, safety risks, frequent travel, long hours and other factors that, on his tests, led the men to stand while the women sat. Those jobs pay more because fewer people want to do them. It’s not sexism. It’s just supply and demand. In some fields, like office jobs — finance for example — women make as much or more than men.</p>

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<p>But WHY are women making those choices? Of course more men than women are going to be at their jobs for more than 20 years. You want to try giving birth and staying home with children while stringing together 20 consecutive working years? </p>

<p>I am very close to an extremely successful woman who “made the choice” to go part-time after she had children. She had said children later in life, after she had been established. Before that time, she had been told that, if she were a man, she would have been promoted five years ago. She was paid less than the men around her, worked the same hours, and then finally realized that she wasn’t putting up with all of that so a 20-year-old could raise her children for her. Yeah, a “choice.” My bet is that men have more incentive to stay at work, because it’s more rewarding. </p>

<p>(Feminist rant over… from the woman who is still at the office.)</p>

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<p>Things have changed, of course if you compare now and then(30 years+), I mean now there’s probably choice.
I think there is some truth to life style choice. Using myself because I’m one person that I know really well(lol), before I got married I made at least 50% more than my brothers(3 to be exact and all older, same field), so technically I’m not limited because off my genre. The reason I made more because I’m a risk taker, move jobs more often if given the opportunity therefore more salary increases. After I got married and had kids, technically I double my income because H works in the same field and make more/less the same salary. But in the last 15+years I have worked but limiting my stress due to having kids at home, ie not to take any plump assignment, work from home while the kids are young, take a lower pay because on a bigger scheme of things, I’m ahead, if you take into account of child care, so this is a life style choice . I’ve also lost my edge in being competitive(mind you, I was never that competitive) because my children comes first. I often stated up front to potential employer that I do not like to travel and they respect and accomodate me, but I’m sure I’d probably give up something in terms of career advantage.
I’ve seen other women, d’s best friend mother who is a VP of engineering at a large company, a household name, who earns more money than most men but she gives up in her life style choice, working 60-80 hours, always buying food for dinner, never cook unless it’s a holiday/special occasion, so I’m definitely in the category that believes in life style choice. This person makes this choice to live this kind of life that I would not feel appropriate for myself because I love to cook and eat. This is just one example for women in software engineering, technically a male field, which is supposed to be more biased(male majority). I personally think this person is an excellent mom despite this life style choice.
Finally, I see a lot of this in my company, those who sacrifice to work 60-80 hours(women) will be rewarded with more plump assignment, more money, etc… because I think from the company’s point of view, these people are more dedicated, period.</p>

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<p>The big push now by feminists is to use the law to overcome market forces and MANDATE equality of pay, regardless of working conditions or the choices people are willing to make, i.e. force employers to pay secretaries as much as truck drivers. Do we really want the government to set wages for job categories??</p>

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<p>As a female graduate of a top MBA program (20 years ago) I was surprised to learn how few of my classmates are employed full time. Many married similarly educated men and in our day most of us who could afford to chose to stay home. I was interested to learn at a recent reunion that most of my female classmates were not planning to advise their daughters to do the same.</p>

<p>When you look at this it’s easy to see that statistics can be very deceptive.</p>

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<p>We have certainly come far by leaps and bounds since the days of the “feminine mystique”. Yet I think women today are saddled with a different problem, a problem of overextension rather than confinement. Feminist rhetoric of the 70’s told women that we could, indeed, have it all: successful career, happy family, and beautiful home. As with so many things, however, this was much easier said than done. Women are now expected to fill two roles, that of mother/ wife and that of career woman. Why aren’t women going for the top jobs like men are? Men have historically been brought up “vertically”: choose A field, set A goal, and devote your life to achieving that ONE thing. Women are socialized more “horizontally”; to balance and juggle many different areas at once. The women of today are realizing that you cannot, in fact, have it all; that balancing a full load at home and at work is simply not possible. Something’s got to give, and that something is often the woman’s career. I think in order for the wage gap to really be closed, men’s role in society needs to be reevaluated and redefined in the same revolutionary way that women’s role was thirty years ago. Just my two cents =)</p>

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<p>I think housework is not always the issue. I always have some types of help: nanny, driver, and a cleaner, on top of a very helpful husband. Like I said it’s a self selected choice. I don’t have as much stamina nor the ability to deal with too much stress, at least not effectively, eventhough I have been working full time for nearly 25+years. I don’t want to do the extra push to get the promotions for the extra raise. In fact, I’ve actually turned down assignment that would lead to promotions/raises. When my kids were younger, I did not want promotions, period. And the other VP I mentioned, also have full-time helper for driving to/from school+activities, etc…</p>

<p>Money is not the issue either, I never did have to work. My family has always live below our means, my paycheck is that extra paycheck(for the last 10 years) that goes to savings, and not for necessities.</p>

<p>Like I said,it’s a life style choice. I love to spend time doing the “Martha Stewart” things such as cooking, garden, sawing, arts&crafts, paying more attention to my kids education(you need it for Ca public schools), volunteering for d’s school and for the community. The other VP loves to shop and send kids to private school so she doesn’t have to worry about school(lol).</p>

<p>The bottom line is my job brings me the extra paycheck, let me get out of the house everyday,gives me a chance to meet new people, allows me to be independent,and serves as an insurance just in case somethings don’t always work out(h job,marriage, you name it). I feel like I have enough, I don’t see the reason to need more money/nor less,except for the exorbitant college cost(lol), so why should I take on more responsibilities? So it is life choice after all.</p>

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<p>“I think in order for the wage gap to really be closed, men’s role in society needs to be reevaluated and redefined in the same revolutionary way that women’s role was thirty years ago. Just my two cents =)”</p>

<p>I absolutely agree. Until men are routinely socialized to spread themselves as thinly as most working women with children, there will continue to be a situational wage gap between the sexes.</p>