Equal Pay: Myths Versus Facts

Recently many newspapers and webpages featured articles and editorials by feminist activist regarding the lack of equal pay for women. These features were examples of the lack of "activist integrity" in an effort to create a false crisis. The problem is that many activists do more to cause friction than promote harmony. The myth that women make less than men, and the possible reason for this disparity, makes for great headlines, but is nothing more.

There are many factors that come into play when deciding salary and promotion, and although there may be some companies that are not living in the 21st century, the nature of business is such that the best and the brightness thrive, regardless of whether they are a man or a woman.

The misleading phrase "77 cents on the dollar" has been the thrust for lawsuits and legislation, not to mention the source of unnecessary fury on the part of both sexes. This is a common misunderstanding, based on misinterpretation of Census Bureau survey statistics: The "77 cents on the dollar" figure is simply the weekly median (meaning middle: an equal number of women above and below) earnings figure ($473) of all working women divided by the weekly median earnings figure ($618) of all working men. These figures include everyone from dishwashers to physicists and have nothing whatsoever to do with equal pay for equal work.

Myth: Women earn only 77 cents on the male dollar.

Fact: When key variables, such as age, education, occupation and experience are factored in, women earn as much as men, according to the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Myth: Women are funneled into low-paying, low-prestige careers by a sexist society.

Fact: In 1970, only 12 percent of pharmacists were women; by 2004, the percentage had jumped to 48. Between 1970 and 2004, women's representation increased from 5 to 33 percent of lawyers, from 27 to 68 percent of public relations specialists, and from 39 to 63 percent of psychologists.

Fact: A survey based on U.S. Census Bureau interviews with 21,000 people in 2004 indicated men spend about one hour more on the job per day than women, 8 hours versus 7.1 hours. Some of this is due to women's higher likelihood of working part time. Though even when that is taken into consideration, the difference is still 7 percent, or 34 minutes. These differences do add up. Over the course of a year, working men are working several 40-hour weeks more than women. The better question to ask is: "Are men getting the short end of the stick by having to work more hours?" This difference in time at work is reflected in the average pay including promotion opportunities for women versus men.

The reasons why men work more hours than woman is part of a larger social ill. Women make sure they promote themselves as the primary caregiver of our children. Society accepts women having to leave work to be there for their children. But when a man asks for those same considerations, they are usually asked by their supervisor (does not matter whether that supervisor is a man or a woman), "Why can't your wife take care of that?"

Monetary inequality is a false claim, while bigger societal injustices are being ignored. Seventy percent of all "F's" are awarded to boys. Currently, 6 million school-aged children are on Ritalin, of which 90 percent of them are boys (side note: American kids represent 90 percent of the world's population using Ritalin). Seventy percent of all children diagnosed with learning disabilities are boys. Studies have shown that our boys are lagging an average of a year and half behind girls in reading and writing skills. Eighty percent of dropouts are male, and males only make up 44 percent of our college population. These factors are being ignored because they do not fit into the feminist "equality" picture. Exposing these facts would take away fund raising and public awareness for their pet projects instead of helping those in society who are truly not equal — our sons.

I do not have the answers for these problems, but I can tell you that myths such as "equal pay for equal dollars" do nothing to help our society on a whole. These myths serve only to promote a selfish cause that in the end is a detriment to true social equality.

Jeff Chidester

Outstanding article on the subject from Carrie Lucas, National Review http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/lukas200504190751.asp