Concerning gender pay-inequity....

[Fountain79]

I honestly don't know about this topic to comment one way or the other. I have heard argument recently, particularly on a local talk radio show that often the numbers that show pay inequity do not consider the fact that men take jobs that women often will not. Again I honestly don't know enough on this to comment but I was curious if anyone had info that repudiated this argument.

[bobbieinok]

1. when this was discussed in the 70s, there was an attempt to

compare jobs by amount of training required, etc.......for example, comparing pay of secretaries (mostly female) to security or janitors (mostly male)

as I recall, those who worked with this concept had some pretty compelling and workable ways to compare jobs/pay

[Fountain79]

2. They pointed out jobs that were more dangerous...

for example that paid more were often filled by men. Again I am curious if this has any validity.

[Iris]

5. Being a teacher is dangerous, but I don't see a lot of men going into

education - other than maybe to coach and be a principal.

[Iris]

7. (but I don't have to tell you!)

:hi:

on edit: And now I feel so bad that I stereotyped men who ARE in education.

mea culpa

[Fountain79]

9. I teach Spanish actually...

and foreign languages tends to be a very female dominated field at least at my district. At the middle school level I am currently the only male teacher in the district for that area.

[Fountain79]

8. A teacher has work hazards that is for certain...

however I don't think you can compare the dangers faced by other jobs were a simple mistake or oversight can lead to death.

[BoneDaddy]

16. I work in a school

and although I contend that it is all about where you are teaching, I hardly think that you could compare that, in any capacity to other fields.

Sure if you are teaching in the worst areas and deserve combat pay, absolutely, but if you are talking generalizations, I think teaching is very secure

[Iris]

3. and women take jobs that men often will not

so maybe there should be a comparison between those 2 groups of jobs. It might show what our society "values" most - and I'm pretty sure it's not teachers.

[Fountain79]

4. You don't have to tell me...

I am one and I am not a coach in case you were curious.

[BoneDaddy]

17. Agreed

Motherhood, raising of children, and many other "feminine" or "motherly" tasks are very devalued and need to be given much more credence, attention and worth in society.... No argument there.

[AllieB]

6. Work traditionally held by women is among the lowest paid

Home healthcare workers, waitresses, and, until the rise of unions, teachers and nurses, received low wages.

[Cleita]

13. True. My teacher friends made only a little more than I did as

an office worker back in the sixties. The best paying job I had was also the one that required the least education and skills because it was union.

[FloridaPat]

10. A female computer programmer & her programming husband both

worked for a consulting firm. Same job, different areas. She got extremely good reviews. He got so-so reviews. After 5 years he was $30,000 ahead of her in pay. She had enough and took both their reviews into HR and demanded to know why her husband was making so much more than her. She got her money and then she quit.

Yes, there is still discrimination against women for pay.

[AllieB]

14. My husband and I do roughly the same work at different companies

I have a college degree and advanced coursework and certification. He never graduated from college, though he's working on that now. :-) He has always made at least 20K more than me, regardless of our respective employers.

[Solo_in_MD]

11. IMO, its more a myth than reality when compared head to head

For example teachers with the same qualification in the same school districts make the same amount of money. This is pretty well true in other areas. The key is "same qualifications" which in my example mean years of experience, years in the district, degrees and other training. Take a pair of 40 year old teachers where one stayed home for 10 years to rear children, then there will be a pay difference and rightly so (difference of 10 years of experience). To try to claim that is an example of gender pay inequity is IMO factually dishonest, and hurts the cause of pay equity. If some one claims there is a disproportionate promotion of men in an area that is sex discrimination not gender pay inequity and there are remedies of varying effectiveness for it.

The other key area is that certain professions pay better than others. That has always been true. However, with the exception of ground combat and ordained ministry in some churches, I am not aware of any that formally ban men or women. Clearly societal and other pressures have limited women's participation in some areas including physical trades and things like law enforcement. However those barriers are for the most part down.

Finally it does not take into account choice. If an adult chooses to take a lower wage rate or part time job because it fits their needs better (children, lifestyle, location, etc) that is not an example of pay inequity, that is an example of free choice, something we should all support.

[AllieB]

15. Civil service and public sector jobs have pay grades

most private sector companies do not, which means that discrimination can and does happen.

See my example above, and I have many, many others.

[Cleita]

12. Really?

What about the jobs that women do that aren't paid equally like comparable jobs in skill and education that men do and that men often make twice as much at?

When I started working life as an underpaid secretary, I had to know good business English, shorthand, typing, typing from a transcription machine and bookkeeping. I was also expected to have two years of college.

None of the men I was assigned to had the skills I did. Most of them couldn't spell and had no idea what a sentence fragment was. Service in the military was often accepted in place of a college education. Yet they all made twice as much money as I or any of the other women I worked with did.

Now things aren't as bad today, however, women still don't make the money they should in the jobs traditionally considered women's work.