Friday, August 3, 2012

do men really earn more than women?


This entry was written by Lester Andrist and originally posted at The Sociological Cinema.


A few months ago, sociologist Phillip Cohen blogged about a feminist viral statistic meme, which claims that women own less than 1% of all the world's wealth. It turns out, a credible source for this figure can't be traced and is unlikely to exist. As Cohen's post reminds us, the very statistics that shape how we understand the world are sometimes little more than elaborately disguised rumors. So what about other influential statistics? What about that viral statistic which states that women earn about 77 cents for every dollar men earn? When people have denied gender inequality exists and when they have implied it is unnecessary to enact policies aimed at eradicating it, the 77-cent statistic has often come to the rescue and thwarted derailment, so whether the statistic is accurate is an important question. In the above clip, Republican Party strategist Alex Castellanos asserts the 77-cent statistic is untrue. Could it be just another viral statistic meme without a source? The short answer is no. The longer answer is that 77 cents is an average, and the number varies based on profession, age, and race. The 77-cent statistic can easily be traced to a respectable source--the Census Bureau (the U.S. Bureau of Labor calculates the number differently and arrives at about 81 cents on the male dollar). The point is society needs an accurate description of the world, lest our dominant understanding of the world become solely derived from eloquently stated assertions by elites with narrow interests. In part, this clip makes a good case for the potential importance of sociology, and in particular, a sociology that checks its sources. It is also important to have a sociology that is capable of setting the record straight, if only to rebuke those talking heads who seek to confuse the public with baseless assertions. In this clip, Alex Castellanos' baseless assertion begins at about the 7:35 mark.

4 comments:

  1. This blog post was interesting to me because we've always heard that women were being paid less than men but as a man I tended to turn the cheek at this issue. It is clearly an injustice when you have one person being paid more than another just because of there gender when they may posses the same qualities. What was even more shocking is that the statistics say that 264 out of 265 occupations in the country men are being compensated more and women only get paid 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes. Wow. However after only 9 days in office President Obama signed a bill to try and rid this problem. Also what was shocking was even though the statistics are there to prove all of this information correct, Republicans still believe that this problem does not exist.

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  2. Gender inequality and worth both fiscal and social don't just stop in the professional world. If we were to talk about how much work one gender does over the other we must think about the social roles we enforce on the female gender. Her work and I do speak very traditionally and stereotypically, does not stop once the clock hits five. She then must attend to picking up the children, providing a cooked meal for the family, tend to the emotional needs of her children and spouse and maintain the cleanliness in the home. THEN to establish, maintain and reinforce that she is equal to men in the workplace she must then complete any office homework she was assigned but only after she attends her family. We can then also imagine a single mother who has to take on the duties of two parents and provide as much as she can to compensate for the lack of a second parental guide and provider. I am not dismissing any at home activities men may provide to their families after work. I am however, saying that society has a pressure on women to continue an almost gender specific or implied "work," even after she is off the clock. If we focus back on gender specific jobs or hierarchy of positions that are filled with women, we see that globally only 2-3% of women fill top corporate jobs. We also see that even after mobility has been achieved equality in pay has not. The glass ceiling is apparent but some turn away from what the glass ceiling implies. As women, glass ceilings portray society’s view of my worth and limit my achievements. This is a blow to my self esteem, my womanhood, and my rights. This is turn makes me think that my education is a waste. To educate myself is to take myself from a state of ignorance to enlightenment and the American dream says graduate high school, go to college, get a diploma and then make your dreams come true- move upward in social class because you have achieved the knowledge, the skills and therefore the right to. If women do the same, follow that path, but still receive less then men what good is my education? I will forever be limited. Another perspective that came to mind is that then with lower pay; I may be forced to rely on another- a man. A man who can "support," me fiscally. This reinforces gender strata as males being the dominant and bred winner. It's unfair that women are forced into subjugation this way. And not all women do choose this path but society makes it deviant for women not to and her life is much more difficult than those women who do. I do however; admire the global demand and recognition for women's right and equality. I found an inspiring quote from the UN General Assembly who established UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment: “UN Women is recognition of a simple truth: Equality for women and girls is not only a basic human right, it is a social and economic imperative. Where women are educated and empowered, economies are more productive and strong. Where women are fully represented, societies are more peaceful and stable.” I feel like we can move in this direction if we cease to look away from this issue and establish new orders that will then effect the social order and view of women's worth in general and to society.

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  4. As the economic state of affairs drags on in the United States maybe at the end, when the world recovers the United States will be a better place for all of this suffering. We will all come to learn important truths; 1. We must get out of debt and stay out. 2. That women are equal to men in the workforce and we, as women, will help rule from first an economic standpoint and then maybe latter a political standpoint, thereby changing the world into a more peaceful and tolerant environment for all. I give a glimpse of this from the article on http://www.npr.org/2012/09/10/160131630/end-of-men-heralds-new-era-of-female-dominance as women become a leading factor in the workforce, just like during World War II. Except now more women on average are obtaining a higher education than men and I do not believe that this time we will be put aside when the economy recovers. This change has been coming about in a slow revolution since the sixties with stops and starts. One book just published was publicized on NPR, The Good Girl’s Revolt, by Lynn Povich. http://www.npr.org/2012/09/09/160685709/good-girls-revolt-story-of-a-newsroom-uprising. It has taken a few generations to change the way men see women. I don’t expect women will be truly equal in all areas of society for at least another generation, but I hope it will be less.

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