desert dude
Well-Known Member
Do women earn 17% less than men in comparable jobs, working comparable hours? No, says a study done by the St. Louis Federal Reserve
http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/re/articles/?id=2160
Despite the accuracy of these numbers, many researchers believe that the mere comparison of median weekly earnings of male and female workers presents an incomplete picture. First, women are likely to work fewer hours than men, which would make a gap in weekly earnings between the two groups substantial even if their hourly wages are the same. For this reason, most economic studies of a gender gap, including all of the studies reviewed in this article, use hourly wages instead of weekly earnings as a measure.
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Some researchers believe that it is not enough to compare wages of similar men and women. They argue that total compensation (wages together with benefits) must be compared. Women of child-bearing age may prefer jobs with a lower wage but with employer-paid parental leave, sick leave and child care to jobs with a higher wage but without such benefits. A study that used National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) found that female workers were indeed more likely to receive family-friendly fringe benefits.6 Some economists believe that female workers "pay" for the benefits they prefer by accepting a lower wage. If that is the case, excluding fringe benefits would exaggerate the actual gender wage disparity.
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Here is some more confounding evidence:
“The main conclusion from our work is that female M.B.A.’s have not done as well as male M.B.A.’s in the labor market,” the report says. “That finding should not come as a surprise. The more startling findings concern why they have not done as well.”
In business school and early employment, male and female career paths are quite similar, the survey shows. Women tend to take more marketing classes and men more finance classes; but their grade point averages differ only very slightly, and the years following graduation generally lead to similar jobs and performance.
The real difference, said Dr. Bertrand in an interview, starts with maternity leave. “Any departure, for six months or more, is costly,” she said. “Male or female, you never re-enter where you were.”
Women executives who do not have children follow career paths that closely replicate those of their male peers. Successful M.B.A. couples have similar work patterns, said Dr. Bertrand. “Women without children married to high-earning spouses are just as likely to work and accumulate post-M.B.A. work experience at an almost identical rate,” she said. “Call a woman without a child a man.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/business/global/29iht-riedgenper.html?_r=0
WAR ON WYMIN!!!
http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/re/articles/?id=2160
Despite the accuracy of these numbers, many researchers believe that the mere comparison of median weekly earnings of male and female workers presents an incomplete picture. First, women are likely to work fewer hours than men, which would make a gap in weekly earnings between the two groups substantial even if their hourly wages are the same. For this reason, most economic studies of a gender gap, including all of the studies reviewed in this article, use hourly wages instead of weekly earnings as a measure.
...
Some researchers believe that it is not enough to compare wages of similar men and women. They argue that total compensation (wages together with benefits) must be compared. Women of child-bearing age may prefer jobs with a lower wage but with employer-paid parental leave, sick leave and child care to jobs with a higher wage but without such benefits. A study that used National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) found that female workers were indeed more likely to receive family-friendly fringe benefits.6 Some economists believe that female workers "pay" for the benefits they prefer by accepting a lower wage. If that is the case, excluding fringe benefits would exaggerate the actual gender wage disparity.
...
Here is some more confounding evidence:
“The main conclusion from our work is that female M.B.A.’s have not done as well as male M.B.A.’s in the labor market,” the report says. “That finding should not come as a surprise. The more startling findings concern why they have not done as well.”
In business school and early employment, male and female career paths are quite similar, the survey shows. Women tend to take more marketing classes and men more finance classes; but their grade point averages differ only very slightly, and the years following graduation generally lead to similar jobs and performance.
The real difference, said Dr. Bertrand in an interview, starts with maternity leave. “Any departure, for six months or more, is costly,” she said. “Male or female, you never re-enter where you were.”
Women executives who do not have children follow career paths that closely replicate those of their male peers. Successful M.B.A. couples have similar work patterns, said Dr. Bertrand. “Women without children married to high-earning spouses are just as likely to work and accumulate post-M.B.A. work experience at an almost identical rate,” she said. “Call a woman without a child a man.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/business/global/29iht-riedgenper.html?_r=0
WAR ON WYMIN!!!
