"Today, women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77
cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014 it's an
embarrassment. A woman deserves equal pay for equal work. She deserves
to have a baby without sacrificing her job." Thus spake Obama in the
State of the Union Address in 2014. He reiterated this position recently
in a weekend address.
Yet in 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor found that, after controlling for education and job differences, the gender "wage gap" shrank to only 95% and much of the difference was attributed to personal choices: "A greater percentage of women than men tend to work part-time. Part-time work tends to pay less than full-time work. A greater percentage of women than men tend to leave the labor force for childbirth, childcare and elder care....Some of the wage gap is explained by the percentage of women who were not in the labor force during previous years, the age of women, and the number of children in the home....Women, especially working mothers, tend to value 'family friendly' workplace policies more than men. Some of the wage gap is explained by industry and occupation, particularly, the percentage of women who work in the industry and occupation."
More, much of the literature, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics Highlights of Women's Earnings, focus on wages rather than total compensation which misses a lot of the motivation for women seeking work. "Research indicates that women may value non-wage benefits more than men do, and as a result prefer to take a greater portion of their compensation in the form of health insurance and other fringe benefits," again the Department of Labor.
Some politicians rise above criticism or close analysis. For some reason we give leaders a break; Tonkin aside, we never see our leaders as opposed to our better interests. But this kind of repetitive insincerity must, at some point, be dealt with. This is simple agitprop, "The twin strategies of agitation and propaganda," so typical of self centered dictatorships. And facile street organizers. When seen in conjunction with speeches like Obama's Stafford Act Speech at Hampton University (http://steeleydock.blogspot.com/2012/10/obama-as-higgs-particle.html), what might be excused as an abberaton appears to be more of a technique.
Yet in 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor found that, after controlling for education and job differences, the gender "wage gap" shrank to only 95% and much of the difference was attributed to personal choices: "A greater percentage of women than men tend to work part-time. Part-time work tends to pay less than full-time work. A greater percentage of women than men tend to leave the labor force for childbirth, childcare and elder care....Some of the wage gap is explained by the percentage of women who were not in the labor force during previous years, the age of women, and the number of children in the home....Women, especially working mothers, tend to value 'family friendly' workplace policies more than men. Some of the wage gap is explained by industry and occupation, particularly, the percentage of women who work in the industry and occupation."
More, much of the literature, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics Highlights of Women's Earnings, focus on wages rather than total compensation which misses a lot of the motivation for women seeking work. "Research indicates that women may value non-wage benefits more than men do, and as a result prefer to take a greater portion of their compensation in the form of health insurance and other fringe benefits," again the Department of Labor.
Some politicians rise above criticism or close analysis. For some reason we give leaders a break; Tonkin aside, we never see our leaders as opposed to our better interests. But this kind of repetitive insincerity must, at some point, be dealt with. This is simple agitprop, "The twin strategies of agitation and propaganda," so typical of self centered dictatorships. And facile street organizers. When seen in conjunction with speeches like Obama's Stafford Act Speech at Hampton University (http://steeleydock.blogspot.com/2012/10/obama-as-higgs-particle.html), what might be excused as an abberaton appears to be more of a technique.
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