I know there's a lot of threads on feminism and the gender pay gap already, but I think we need to end this debate once and for all. Because the nonsense that is spouted by feminists on this subject makes me cringe.
Two workers. 1 male, 1 female. Both are working exactly the same job. They are paid the same rate (per hour). If they work the same number of hours, they receive the same annual wage. It is illegal to pay one more than the other.
I saw the news story yesterday about Tescos. Women were claiming that it's unfair for men in the warehouse to be paid ~£3/hour more than women stacking the shelves on the supermarket floor.
These are two different jobs, therefore the company has every right to have 2 different rates of pay. Yes there is some overlap in terms of skill set - but the warehouse job clearly requires more skill. The technical skills (such as operating a forklift truck) are vastly more complicated than putting a few loaves of bread onto a shelf. The warehouse itself is a hazardous environment, so it's right that they are paid a premium for this reason alone.
To me, I see no issue - the more skilled job (warehouse) is paid more than the less skilled job (shop floor stacking)
This is not a gender pay gap argument. This is an argument that one job is of equal skill level to a different job. There happens to be more men working in the warehouse, but this is totally irrelevant.
This also comes after the BBC editor Carrie Gracie was arguing that she should be paid the same as her male colleagues. Her males colleagues who happen to do a different job. This isn't a gender pay gap argument, this is again an argument that one job is of equal skill to a different job. It just so happens the male is in the higher skilled job (or at least what the BBC deems is higher skilled and more valued job), but again this is totally irrelevant.
So feminists - please tell me what I'm missing here? Women and men who do the same job, and work the same hours, are paid exactly the same. Women apparently earn "less" due to a variety of reasons, including:
- women choose to do lower skilled jobs
- women are more likely to work part time
- women take time off for maternity leave