Ms. Katherine Fenton

Of all the questions one could ask President Obama and Governor Romney you asked, “In what new ways do you intend to rectify the inequalities in the workplace, specifically regarding females making only 72 percent of what their male counterparts earn?”

Never mind the fact you were serious in asking that question, what looms larger is not only did you neglect to do your own homework, but also it is obvious you are ill-informed and don’t even know it; otherwise, why would you ask such a question? Ignorance is bliss, but showing ignorance in front of millions of people is, well…a major bummer, to put it mildly.

Most astonishing, considering the connotation, is you would look to men to tell you what they are going to do for you- a perfectly, capable woman. You are, aren’t you?

Besides the first irritation that you were a part of the audience who was 100% uncommitted (how on God’s green earth are y’all STILL uncommitted?), it was especially irritating, that while you asked the gentlemen to speak specifically to the 72 percent pay wage gap, you failed to speak specifically to the context of that statistic. You might as well go grab your picket sign and join the crowd of women who are stuck in a time warp and are satisfied to keep up that tiresome cheerleading chant: “Equal pay for equal work”…

Let’s assume you at least know from whence you cite your 72 percent statistic. A cursory check of the December 2011 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report shows women’s earning were actually 81 percent of men’s. When we’re talking dollars, every cent matters, right?

To be fair, if you are using a BLS statistic, you wouldn’t be the first to misrepresent it and sadly, you won’t be the last. Meaning, that particular statistic doesn’t account for objective dependencies such as occupation, experience, education, and hours worked; therefore, the median pay makes no distinction between the 40 hour a week receptionist and the 60+ hour a week CPA.

Why some occupations attract more women and others attract more men isn’t such a mystery, but it’s not politically correct to say women tend to be more interested in early childhood development (pay is less) than software engineering (pay is more).

When the objective dependencies are accounted for in more inclusive studies, the disparity shrinks to as low as 2 – 10 cents. The top subjective dependency is the lack of negotiation by women to contend for higher pay and compensation. Most compelling is the 2002 Carnegie Mellon University study which concluded the difference in starting pay between those who negotiated and those who didn’t was 7 cents– just about the balance of that pesky gap. Predictably, women negotiated significantly less than men (7% vs. 57%). A career’s worth of missed negotiation logically widens the gap to as high as 35%. Even the President’s Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act acknowledges this fact since it provides federal funding to help women improve their negotiating skills.

Next is how women’s career choices are influenced when taking on greater family responsibility. Most desirable are those which are low risk, offer flexibility, reduced work hours, and less travel from home (retail, childcare vs. firefighter, truck driver). The pay is less because the competing supply of workers is greater than the demand. Even women making $100,000+ often trade compensation for more family time.

Finally, isn’t it convenient how the flip of women out-earning men is ignored? There is deliberate recruiting of women in male dominated fields like engineering (women are offered more), but more so because…well, that’s the question. We’ve come full circle in this gender pay wage gap. Not only are women making more than men in some careers (43% more for sales engineers), but when adjusted for inflation, men’s earnings have declined since 1970.

So, Ms. Fenton, if you are satisfied with President Obama’s answer of the government providing contraception and access to abortion as a means to close the pay wage gap and if you choose to ignore the fact that in his own administration women are paid less, then might I suggest to use lightweight material to make your picket sign. You’ll be carrying it for a very long time. Otherwise, put down that ridiculous sign, put on your big girl pants, do your homework, and get on with the work YOU want to do. You don’t have to settle. If you are competitive, you will earn your pay.

By: Cynthia Shaffer
Cultural & Political Affairs