Equal Pay Day is on March 26, representing how far into the calendar year women have to work to catch up with men’s earnings. Celebrated by many left-leaning activists, Equal Pay Day is an opportunity to debunk the misleading narratives about the differences in pay between men and women in the workforce. How much do you know about Equal Pay Day and the wage gap? Play “Two Truths and a Lie” to find out!
A. The wage gap between women and men is 81 cents on the dollar.
B. All other factors held the same, women make less than men for the same job.
C. Women are overrepresented in lower-paying career fields.
A. TRUTH! It is true that the wage gap is 81 cents on the dollar, but that is not the whole story. This number is based on average incomes for women and men and does not consider differences in job title, experience, education, industry, or other factors. When accounted for, the gender pay gap decreases to just 99 cents on the dollar. There are likely other factors that researchers did not consider that can explain the remaining cent, such as willingness to move or aggressive wage negotiation.
B. LIE! Although there is a gap in average income between men and women, when researchers control for all differences, the wage gap disappears. Often, the driving factor in wage differences is personal choices between women and men. Surveys show that working mothers prefer part-time work, while working fathers chase higher earnings and work longer hours. This difference likely comes because of the inherent differences between mothers desiring to be more available for their children, while fathers desire to support their families financially. However, other occupational choices help to account for the wage gap as well.
C. TRUTH! Women are found to predominantly major in fields that pay lower wages, such as education and the humanities. This defies the claim that women are systematically experiencing wage discrimination. Instead, women self-select based on personal choices in schooling and career and desires for fulfillment that they value higher than pay. The industries that are dominated by women include childcare workers, preschool teachers, administrative assistants, medical assistants, and hairdressers and cosmetologists. Men, on the other hand, self-select into higher-paying fields that often carry more danger.
Bottom Line:
Women deserve fairness, adequate legal protection in the workplace, as well as more options to make their career choices work for them. Equal Pay Day does nothing to advance worker freedom for women and instead perpetuates a lie that women are largely discriminated against in pay. What truly matters is championing policies that open more opportunities, flexibility, and freedom. Making it easier for people to freelance and start their own businesses is a great place to start. (Speak Up: Add your name in support of freelancing.)
To learn more, read the Policy Focus: Equal Pay Every Day.