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How many people still believe in the existence of a "Gender pay gap"?

I've been doing a hell lot of research on this ever since it was brought up in my one of my social science seminars. I don't really know why they brought it into the syllabus, but they did and it did get quite negative feedback from both guys and girls on the course.

I remember a girl giving a pretty solid argument on how it doesn't exist, only to get shunned by the lecturer (a woman) and over half the rest of the seminar.

What do you guys think?
Reply 1
Avatar for Dylann
Dylann
21
Of course it doesn't exist, and I don't think I know anyone who genuinely believes it does.

This is my favourite video on the gender pay gap.
Reply 2
Avatar for Jebedee
Jebedee
17
Original post by Dylann
Of course it doesn't exist, and I don't think I know anyone who genuinely believes it does.

This is my favourite video on the gender pay gap.


Big fan of the site and especially the podcast. :biggrin:
I'm not an expert on the subject but I think it does in a way. But only because women typically go into professions that don't pay as well, like those that are teachers of young children for instance. But that's not the fault of anyone else, it's their choice and I respect that. I think it's better to work doing something you love than go into a job you hate for the money.
(edited 8 years ago)
The trouble is the gap exists technically because women generally are in lower paid professions, lose cash to take time off for their kids, more likely to work part time, etc but from what I see people are either interpreting it all wrong and assuming it exists in a form where women get paid less for the same work (even though that's literally illegal), or that women aren't in high paying professions because of some sort of sexism and oppression of females in the job market.

The only studies I've seen actually looking into potential sexism in the job market have all been faulty and off, but as soon as somebody reads "studies have shown" or literally anything involving numbers they seem to believe it without really reading into it.
Well unless there's examples of where specifically a woman has been denied a mans salary where she does equal work, then it doesn't exist in so far as i'm aware
There is a pay gap, but it is isn't as large as it used to be several decades ago. Women have largely caught up with men, and if it wasn't for the fact that many choose to start families and forgo their careers, they would probably be earning more. That doesn't mean there isn't still progress to be made, but overall gender discrimination in the workplace is certainly nowhere near as problematic as it used to be.
Ironically it is often hypergamy, the practice of women avoiding marrying down like the plague that contributes to the gap. If more tfemale teachers married window cleaners and more female doctors married taxidrivers they would be the main earner and so would put their career first and Take the minimum time off. The men would be the main child carers and the gap would be less but I wouldn't hold your breath.
It's been proved time and again that it is the career and life choices that women and men make that causes the gap not sexism.
All the supposed "explanations" of its non-existence just end up being attempted justifications of it instead. Rich people are wealthier than poorer people because they do different jobs, but that doesn't mean that wealth inequality doesn't exist.
Reply 9
Avatar for lucaf
lucaf
13
Original post by caravaggio2
Ironically it is often hypergamy, the practice of women avoiding marrying down like the plague that contributes to the gap. If more tfemale teachers married window cleaners and more female doctors married taxidrivers they would be the main earner and so would put their career first and Take the minimum time off. The men would be the main child carers and the gap would be less but I wouldn't hold your breath.
It's been proved time and again that it is the career and life choices that women and men make that causes the gap not sexism.


To be fair those different life choices could be put down to sexist attitudes in society, but as long as people have equal opportunities I don't really think it matters. If people make different choices that lead to different outcomes, that's their perogative. The wage gap can just as easily be framed as to be more negative for men: the fact men tend to relentlessly pursue careers ahead of anything else is probably not healthy.
Original post by lucaf
. The wage gap can just as easily be framed as to be more negative for men: the fact men tend to relentlessly pursue careers ahead of anything else is probably not healthy.

Correct and may be a major contributor to that other gap, the one that rarely gets talked about, the life expectancy gender gap.
All men know full well, even from their early teens the girls and women don't want to settle with losers or men of poor finances.
Men on average work longer hours in harder more dirty dangerous places. No small part is the fact that all men know that if they have children, they will be expected to provide the finance if his partner decides to go part time or even stop work until the kids were all in school.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 11
Avatar for MissML
MissML
9
I was thinking that there will be a gender pay gap, but more due to the fact that it's mostly women (not trying to stereotype here of course) that will choose to stay home with the children, or find a part time job to suit, while men may see themselves more as the bread winners and be the main earner in the household. Of course this doesn't always apply but it's just what I thought because I don't know much about the truth behind the gap, if one exists.
Original post by anarchism101
All the supposed "explanations" of its non-existence just end up being attempted justifications of it instead. Rich people are wealthier than poorer people because they do different jobs, but that doesn't mean that wealth inequality doesn't exist.


illustrating perfectly that feminism is just another branch of Marxism
Original post by HarleenQuinzel
I'm not an expert on the subject but I think it does in a way. But only because women typically go into professions that don't pay as well, like those that are teachers of young children for instance. But that's not the fault of anyone else, it's their choice and I respect that. I think it's better to work doing something you love than go into a job you hate for the money.


I agree with this.

Although some people seem to want to assume that by nature, men and women are exactly the same. So if men and women are typically choosing of preferring different professions, this is a big problem and it's the fault of society for making high paying professions more difficult, and less appealing for women to get into.
Where it remains in any significant capacity has a million explanations for it, not least past sexism given that it mostly exists now in those who are coming up on retirement, childbearing being negative for the careers, hence why it only starts to materialise in any real capacity when looking at the population as a whole at around about 30, and various biological factors that tend to make it more likely for men to get the very top jobs.

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