One of the most cherished beliefs of feminists is that women get paid less than men for doing the exact same job and that’s because the whole world hates women and thinks they’re stupid and worthless. It’s called the “wage gap”.
The very first clue that the wage gap is complete and utter bullshit lies in the logic of capitalism itself. If any given industry could pay women less than men for doing the exact same job, THEY WOULD ONLY HIRE WOMEN! Think about this way: if you were in the business of making packing tape, and you could buy the exact same adhesive for 10% less from supplier A than supplier B, which supplier would you buy from?
In arguing for a wage gap, feminists are in effect saying that businesses are choosing to pay more for labor because…. why? It makes no sense. I suppose you could attempt an argument that business hates women so much it is willing to forgo profit for the simple pleasures of misogyny, but that is even more pathetic. Business doesn’t care about ideological bullshit.
Profit or die. It’s that simple.
Why do men make more money than women, even in the same occupational categories?
- They work longer hours
- They get more advanced training
- They are more likely to specialize
Nursing is a great example. A traditionally feminine occupation, the super highly specialized, technically complex and very well remunerated positions are going to men. Ergo, male nurses make more than female ones. Not because: sexism but because: TRAINING, SKILL AND HOURS WORKED.
Men work more paid hours than women – full stop – end of fucking story. For all OECD countries collectively, men work 309 216 hours per year, while women are putting in 243 311 hours per year. In just the G7, men are pulling 184 733 hours while women clock in at 155 285.
Okay, so the OECD data was a bit more complex that I realized. Rather than tease out the methodology, how about we rely on the United States Census Bureau to give us some data on how many hours men and women work?
It appears that on average, NO men work less than 40 hours a week, and on average no women work MORE than 40 hours a week.
There are more men working than women, and that has been the case since at least 1967.
And lo and behold, men tend to earn more money than women.
It’s fraudulent to report only that men earn more than women without also reporting that men work more hours than women. If the “wage gap” is going to be a topic of conversation, than the “time gap” should be discussed right alongside it, no?
Even doing the exact same job at the exact same rate of pay, men will earn more than women simply because they work more. There are lots of reasons women don’t work as many hours as men, but whatever spin you want to put on it, the simple fact that women work fewer hours at paid labor than men remains.
There is no wage gap.
Jon Gunnarson gives it a more thorough treatment here, if you are interested.
Women also tend to work at cushy, indoor, pansy-assed occupations that require little in the way of effort or physical exertion. Those nasty, dirty, outdoor, dangerous jobs? Yeah, they tend to be filled by men. Who get paid to take on the dirty work.
The Ten Most Dangerous Jobs in 2013:
10. Taxi drivers (85.6% men)
9. Electrical power line installers (99.6% men)
8. Truck drivers (95.4% men)
7. Farmers (76.5% men)
6. Structural/Iron and Steel workers (97.3% men)
5. Roofers (99% men)
4. Recycling collectors (92.1% men)
3. Aircraft pilots (94.8% men)
2. Logging workers (76.5% men)
1. Fishing (76.5% men)
Note: This 2010 census report lumps fishing, farming and logging all into one category. Even so, it is overwhelmingly men who work in these occupations.
And just for shits and giggles, what do women do?
- 71% of all waitstaff are women
- 89% of all maids and housekeepers are women
- 91% of all hairdressers and cosmetologists are women
- 92% of all billing and posting clerks are women
- 90% of all bookkeeping and accounting clerks are women
- 90% of all time keeping and payroll clerks are women
- 92% of all receptionists are women
- 96% of all secretaries are women
- 97% of all preschool teachers are women
- 98% of all dental hygienists are women
So, basically, women serve food, clean up, keep organized, look after small children and tell everyone to remember to floss! Yay! Good job ladies. I’m so glad we spent our GDP on educating women to do shit they would be doing anyways. Except for their own families.
Does any of this come as a surprise to anyone at all? Men work longer, harder and in more dangerous occupations than women do, and for this they are rewarded, as they should be. And it turns out that the same conditions apply even in childhood! Boys get the crappy, yucky, dirty jobs and girls get the soft, cushy, easy jobs and guess who gets a bigger allowance?
Boys have to take out the garbage (Ew! Gross!), mow the lawn and shovel the driveway. Girls fold the laundry and unload the dishwasher. I have a super awesome dishwasher with a turbo setting so that little blade thingy that sprays water will spin like mad, but I have yet to experience any injury from unloading the dishwasher. It’s so safe, I let the baby help!
The little blade thingy that spins and cuts the grass underneath the lawnmower is a little more efficient at removing wayward limbs:
In a multicenter study of pediatric lawn-mower injuries (push or riding gas-powered machines), we reviewed 144 children at an average age of injury of 7.0 years; 77% were boys. Amputations occurred in 67 children; 63 were unilateral and four bilateral; the most common level was the toes (63%). Blood transfusions were given to 35 children.
You shouldn’t pay boys more than girls when they run the risk of amputation?
Fuck you, Soraya.
In fact, I think I’m gonna pay my son NOT to mow the lawn. I don’t want him to get used to the idea that his life is worth less than my girls. Because that is essentially what Soraya is saying. NOT that girls should be given the shit work. Oh, no. That will never do.
The bad news is that gender inequities in lifetime wages and time allocation have roots in how we reward children for work they do at home. Childhood scripts continue to lay the groundwork for making domestic work less valued, for prioritizing men’s careers over women’s, for a persistent workforce sex segregation, and for an enduring wage gap. All because of who dries the dishes and takes out the trash.
Nope. Girls should be paid the same as boys no matter what the chores, so we can go on teaching boys that their lives are essentially disposable, their bodies are tools we can all use and that bullshit jobs like folding towels are equally worthwhile.
You know what happens if you don’t cut the grass? Your house is overtaken by weeds and eventually the natural landscape will take over and engulf your house, break the foundations and make it impossible for you to inhabit it. The World Without Us lays it all out. It’s a fascinating book!
You know what happens if you don’t fold the towels?
Not one fucking thing!
Trust me.
Lots of love,
JB
