The Wage Gap Myth
Posted by GreenSlugg Muse on Friday, September 16, 2016
Ever heard the claim that women make 77 cents on the dollar for the same work as a man? This is what I was told in school. This is what Democratic politicians claim all the time.
Women don't make 77 cents on the dollar for the same work as a man. This is a myth that is rejected by every single economist on the planet.
When economists compare men's earnings with women's earnings, there's a lot that they have to take into account. OVERALL men make more than women.
Why is that?
This is mainly due to the fact that men and women tend to work different jobs.
Doctors tend to make more than nurses.
BUT interestingly enough male doctors tend to make more than female doctors.
...Ooooh, that's interesting. Why is that?
Well when economists looked into this they found two things (well, more than two, but I will just mention the two).
One thing that they found was that with young doctors, the men tended to work more overtime than the women, resulting in a higher annual income.
Another thing that they found is that male and female doctors tend to go into different specialties. Heart surgeons tend to make more than pediatricians.
Make sense?
As a Christian, I believe that men and women are created with equal value, and should have equal rights under the law.
BUT this claim that women make 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes for the exact same work is simply false.
This is from an economist from Harvard. She is a staunch feminist, and she has done a lot of research putting the "wage gap" myth to rest.
http://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-true-story-of-the-gender-pay-gap-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/
