Disproving the "Gender Pay Gap" with a Single Federal Report
"… the raw wage gap continues to be used in misleading ways to advance public policy agendas without fully explaining the reasons behind the gap."
The existence of the so-called gender pay gap can be disproved by a single federal report published by the Department of Labor in 2009:
Selected quotes from the report:
However, despite these [female pay] gains the raw wage gap continues to be used in misleading ways to advance public policy agendas without fully explaining the reasons behind the gap.
There are observable differences in the attributes of men and women that account for most of the wage gap [including]:
A greater percentage of women than men tend to work part-time. Part-time work tends to pay less than full-time work.
A greater percentage of women than men tend to leave the labor force for child birth, child care and elder care.
Women, especially working mothers, tend to value “family friendly” workplace policies more than men.
Research indicates that women may value non-wage benefits more than men do, and as a result prefer to take a greater portion of their compensation in the form of health insurance and other fringe benefits.
Economic research has identified many factors that account for portions of the gender wage gap. Some of the factors are consequences of differences in decisions made by women and men in balancing their work, personal, and family lives. These factors include their human capital development, their work experience, the occupations and industries in which they work, and interruptions in their careers.
… it is not possible now, and doubtless will never be possible, to determine reliably whether any portion of the observed gender wage gap … can confidently be attributed to overt discrimination against women
Here’s the entire report:
Class dismissed.