Today the Fair Pay Campaign is encouraging everyone to blog about their cause in order to raise awareness about the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Did you know women in the U.S. still only make 0.77 for every $1 earned by men? I used to know these statistics in high school and college, but I guess I assumed things had gotten better. So spread the word and write your member of Congress to support this positive legislative change.
On a side note, this post has really gotten me thinking about feminism and how I've been a complacent member of the feminist movement lately. In high school, myself and a bunch of my female debater friends got these fantastic feminism t-shirts. Here's what the back of the shirt looked like:
What have I done in my life recently to help the cause of women's lib? Is feminism simply a label or something I actively try to aspire to every day? I need to do more thinking on this. I feel like I've dropped the ball lately.
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3 comments:
Actually, Kara, your statistic is incorrect. If you analyze the Bureau of Labor Statistics' wage data, it shows that single women who have never married and don't have children actually make $1.13 per every $1 their male counterparts make. Men are the ones who are discriminated against financially in the U.S.
It's only when women take time off to have children that the pay scale shows differences between the sexes. Additionally, women tend to work fewer hours once they have children. If you adjust the wage data to include on-the-job experience and hours worked, there isn't a pay discrepancy.
Taking time off to have a baby is a choice, and women sacrifice their earning potential when they do it. I think that most women, however, gladly take the time off from work because they value their children over their income. Women aren't victims, they're just choosing quality of life over money.
To say that women make less money than men is incorrect. I crunched the numbers with a team of BLS economists when I worked at the Employment Policy Foundation.
I had a feeling that reply was coming . . .
I guess you should also chide the people of the National Women's Law Center for reporting those statistics. Although, I am not entirely convinced there isn't a rejoinder to your arguments. The Employment Policy Foundation did have a conservative ideological slant.
EPF wasn't conservative (that was Citizens for a Sound Economy). However, it was pro-business.
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