As was being discussed in an earlier thread, there is a very pervasive myth about wages in the United States; bottom line being that women get paid less than men and it's because their male bosses are sexist.
Rose wrote:
Nope, there are many companies that have been noted as paying men slightly more than women and can get away with it since the US has such poor unions and workers rights, as apparently people are happy being corporate slaves.
PianoMan wrote:
When unequal pay between sexes in the US is talked about, it's not referring to the pay between two completely different jobs. We're not comparing apples to oranges--we're talking about men and women doing the exact same job and women getting paid less simply because of what reproductive organs they were born with.
Now, I'm aware that this used to be a problem back about 40 years ago, but things have changed. From an article written by (gasp} a woman:
Arrah Nielsen wrote:
Equal pay for equal work has been enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act since it was made law in 1972. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also ban sex-based wage discrimination. So it seems pretty remarkable that the wage gap is so wide and pervasive even today. Attorneys should be having a field day with class-action lawsuits. But they are not. Could it be that even the legal establishment is complicit in this glaringly obvious patriarchal conspiracy?
Interesting indeed. The entire article is
here.
Please read this article. It is very informative and backs up its statements well.
Another woman here has written a similar article regarding this myth. She also has some good points.
Denise Venable wrote:
Women make different choices, and those choices affect how they work. Women often place more importance on their relationships - caring for children, parents, spouses, etc. - than on their careers. A study by the Center for Policy Alternatives and Lifetime television found that 71 percent of women prefer jobs with more flexibility and benefits than jobs with higher wages, and nearly 85 percent of women offered flexible work arrangements by their employers have taken advantage of this opportunity.
Her entire article can be seen
here.
Yet another woman fighting to do away with this myth:
Judy Cresanta wrote:
"As any economist knows, much of the wage gap is explained in differences in education, occupation and experience," writes Cathy Young of the Women’s Freedom Network. Many women, for example, leave the workforce to have and raise children. Women tend to be less willing to commute long distances. For the most part, women are less willing than men to enter high-risk, high-reward positions—preferring jobs which offer security and allow for flexible schedules, but do not pay as much. Women generally work about eight hours a week less than men. These are just some of the factors which can lead employers to pay men higher wages than women.
Conclusion
"Feminists have invented [Equal Pay Day]," writes the American Enterprise Institute’s Furchtgott-Roth, "just as they have invented the myth of the glass ceiling, in an attempt to give less-qualified women undeserved promotions and raises." Women do not face widespread wage discrimination, and female-owned businesses are booming in Nevada and throughout the nation. When feminists march for equal pay tomorrow, they will be propagating a myth which serves not the interests of female workers, but a shortsighted group of activists and politicians who refuse to face the truth about the economic status of women.
Exactly what I was saying earlier: the feminists do not want equal footing with men, they want greater opportunity just for being women. Just like Affirmative Action, they want to be treated better than the "majority" only because of their sex (or in the case of AA, skin color). Make no mistake about it:
This is sexism and racism.
Again I reiterate, all I want is for people to be fairly judged and rewarded as their
actions warrant. I've been passed up for promotions in favor of a female colleague. Did I get angry about it? Cry foul? No. I realized that she had better qualifications than I did, and went about my own business trying to improve myself, so that next time, I'd be ready for that promotion.
Finally, a real-life example of a group of people who didn't give in to the victim mindset.
As most of you know, soon after Pearl Harbor was bombed, many Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps. What you may not know is that there were many Japanese Americans who were in the ROTC or had been previously. These were very patriotic men, who had been born and raised on US soil, and were horrified and outraged at the attack of Pearl Harbor. They naturally wanted to do something about it, so they became Varsity Victory Volunteers and were stationed at a barracks in California. There they did Army duty without pay and were classified as "enemy aliens- not fit for service". After over a year of this, they were finally formed into the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which later became the single most decorated unit of its size in the history of the US Army. Eight Presidential Distinguished Unit Citations, 560 Silver Stars, and at least 9,400 Purple Hearts, among other awards. This obviously greatly increased the respect of Americans for these men.
My point is, instead of sitting around complaining that they were being treated unfairly, the men of the 442nd went out and
through their actions earned more rights for themselves. This is a great example to everyone, regardless of nationality.
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