How do you react to the following data on Womens Pay Gap?

Question

In the UK, apparently women receive

"17% less than men for full-time work, 36% less for part-time work,"

Why do you think this is?

How do you suppose it was calculated?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/01/gender.women

Answer 1

patriarchy.

Answer 2

ditto on patriarchy

this has a long history...since they gave women "pin money" - lesser pay for the same work in factories.

if women take off for childcare, it would be sexist to discriminate agst her and pay her less.  

i guess these nay-sayers also think minorities "choose" to earn less and "choose" to be unemployed.....they say ignorance is bliss...it must be!

Answer 3

Stats that have been collected allowing for women's time off for childrearing has shown that this gap still exists.  They have also compared salaries of similar workers, not just averages and medians in general and the gap still exists.

Answer 4

It's probably true. But also completely justified; women prefer to take time out to have a family, or choose jobs with flexible hours, which tend to be lower paid.

The comparisons are very broad; if a woman was paid less than a man for doing exactly the same job, to the same standard, with the same experience and qualifications, then it would be a problem. But in this case, it's because of personal choices, not oppression.

Answer 5

I react by asking why women select lower paying careers than men (http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=63... and choose to take more time off work than men (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles... which leads to lower salaries than men.

Answer 6

I have worked in professional office environments and it seems very clear to me that men get  pushed to the top faster than women do. For a woman to be promoted, she really has to prove herself over a long time period moreso than a male.

I worked in an industry which was 98% female dominated - Nursing and aged care. I worked in the head office (administrative) and 3 out of 4 of the director's were male. Even then they often had meetings where it wasn't 'necessary' for the female director to attend. Some of the staff had their own office - They were all male, even though there were female's there that had been there for 10 years and had very important roles within the company!

I am not stupid. I am pretty aware that this happens everywhere!

Women have no choice but to take time off work to have children. Anyone who has had to take time off work knows how difficult it is to get back in to the game, not just physically but emotionally. Having time off work has enormous effects on someone's confidence as well.

Have a look at how employers advertise part-time positions..... They deliberately target females for lower-paying support roles (administrative) by using words like 'flexible hours', 'school hours'.... How many men do you see in support roles (PA's, Admin, Reception)? Hardly any (IF any). They all go straight in to roles that will get them somewhere fast.

If a man works in a female dominated industry (Nursing, childcare) he will be embraced and quickly moved to the top. If a female works in a male-dominated industry (Construction, Engineering) she has to put up with harasment, ridicule and will very often leave after a while due to this lack of support.

It's just SO much easier for men to make it to the top positions. Even in female dominated industries. I work in Interior Design which is very much female-dominated industry, yet the highest paying and most famous designers are all men! It's the same across the board....

It's plainly obvious for anyone who has a mind to actually think about it...

Answer 7

i don't trust stats. from a feminist source.

Answer 8

There will always be the naysayers who claim women deliberately choose lower paying careers and who 'choose to have more time off'.

Most of this time off is for having children. Complainers must think children should be carried to term through work and women can give birth quietly during a meeting.

Women do get paid less in higher paying jobs and pregnancy is considered a crime towards the company. "Where's the proof?" the naysayers cry... I have no concrete proof, but then again I have no concrete proof that George Bush is a lying toerag, but he is.