Just in case you needed (more) evidence: a new study shows that no matter what some people claim, the pay gap is not due to women temporarily “opting out” of work to raise a family.
A dramatic pay gap emerges between women and men in America the year after they graduate from college and widens over the ensuing decade, according to research released on Monday.One year out of college, women working full time earn 80 percent of what men earn, according to the study by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, based in Washington D.C.
Ten years later, women earn 69 percent as much as men earn, it said.
So there you go. College educated women, at the same time in their careers as college educated men, are making less money. But don’t think that will stop the attempts at justification. The mainstream media just can’t accept the fact that gender discrimination is to blame, so they have to find another culprit.
Among factors found to make a difference in pay, the choice of fields of concentration in college were significant, the study found. Female students tended to study areas with lower pay, such as education, health and psychology, while male students dominated higher-paying fields such as engineering, mathematics and physical sciences, it said.
Wait, what? Those with degrees in engineering, mathematics and physical sciences make more money than those with degrees in education, health and psychology? THIS is justification? Because we know that education, health and psychology are not NEARLY as important as math. Gee, this couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that health and education are traditionally seen as more “nurturing,” feminine roles than the manly math and science that our delicate girl brains can’t handle– therefore making them under-valued in our society and seen as less worthy of high compensation?????
NAH. [Whoops! I accidentally started thinking, again!]
Anyway, I imagine that the release of this study was timed to coincide with Equal Pay Day, which is tomorrow April 24th. In observance, you can contact your Senator and ask him or her to cosponser the Paycheck Fairness Act. Kind of crazy that we don’t have one of those already, huh?
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also, saying that the pay gap is due to women and men occupying different professional fields ignores the fact that even WITHIN THE SAME OCCUPATION, women are still paid less than men.
oddly enough, at work last night i overheard parts of a CNN broadcast from the very loud TV in the lobby, and they were discussing this study. i was glad it was getting coverage on a national cable news network (even though it WAS airing at 10:30pm), until i overheard the female financial expert they called on to appraise the situation chalking it up to women not being assertive enough.
Hi Mary! It’s great to see that you’ve stopped by.
They pretty much have to get women to say those things, because of course there’s no way that a WOMAN could be sexist. Just like the Republican party has to trot out a black person every now and then to talk about how social programs and affirmative action are BAD and racism doesn’t really exist, anyway. It’s all a justification game, and unfortunately there are enough women who are either in denial or are willing to play along with the system to keep it going.
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