Does the Wage Gap really exist?

Here’s what to say when you find people like this:

and whoever else says the wage gap “is a lie perpetuated by feminists who use statistics dishonestly to further their cause”...

To critics like these, Obama says rather bluntly “It’s not a myth; it’s math.”

So let’s break it down.

First of all: The wage gap is a calculated median. Add what’s a median? Basically…

It’s a simple tool that lines up men & women’s wages from least to highest, and then finds the middle for each.

This reduces the impact of outliers, & already accounts for the natural differences of age, experience etc. Once the median is calculated, there is still a 20% gap for men & women’s wages. So why is this? A lot of people like to say…

ONE it's the woman’s fault for leaving the industry to bear children

Except…both the Mom & Dad are involved in the creation of this child. So, why are only Moms expected to take care of them? Why are the impacts on Dads careers non-existent?

First of all, because Dads aren’t expected to have any responsibility over the child. Even businesses & MNCs don’t offer fathers any paid parental leaves. In the States, there is ZERO paid parental leave. And globally, it’s not much better.

TWO women are simply working in industries that pay less.

But why is this? Well first, it’s not that women aren’t qualified to study STEM. As a matter of fact, “the theory that women have less aptitude for science subjects has been repeatedly debunked.” The issue can be attributed to evidence-based reasons like:

• Lack of female role models

• Sexism in school/ university / in the workplace

• Stereotypes & Expectations on “masculine jobs”

This is structural inequality. And even though the Equal Pay Act was established in 1963 to this day women earn around 82 cents for every dollar that a man makes. What we need to do is continue educating ourselves, & ask questions. Why? Why are things the way they are, and what can we do to change them?

Sources:

https://www.cnbc.com/2014/04/08/obama-on-gender-pay-gap-its-not-a-myth-its-math.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/05/gender-pay-gap-figures-debunking-the-myths

https://www.wgu.edu/blog/why-are-there-so-few-women-in-stem1907.html

https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/equal-pay-act-1963