Back-page headlines
A Canadian article leads with the headline: "Women offenders more likely to commit property crimes than men" (Prince George Citizen, 2008). The article is based on a new report from Statistics Canada (2008)) which found that 47% of females accused of a crime by Canadian police were accused of property crime, compared to 39% of males accused by police. One in five persons accused by police were female in this study.
In Green Bay, Mick Hager (2008) comments that "Income gap, not gender gap, explains differences." Differences in men's and women's income is based on differences in work habits (according to "research"), claims Hager, a "business author and professional speaker." Hager says he'd like to join in the lawsuit when employers "openly discriminating" against women are found.
While looking for a topic this morning, both of these small-time pieces caught my eye - the first because the headline was so misleading, and the second because the premise was just wrong and offensive. First: the StatsCan study shows that female offenders are more likely to be property criminals than male offenders. Or at least, that they're less likely to be arrested for non-property crimes. I suspect there's a serious reporting bias. How many men are going to call the cops when their girlfriend threatens them?
As for Hager, long-time readers of Difference Blog will recognize that I'm a big fan of pointing out alternate explanations for income disparities. Negotiation skills are a major factor (7/31/07, 4/13/07), and absenteeism explains some of the gap, too ( 12/18/06). However, the most damning evidence in favor of a pay gap, in my mind, is that women earn 80% of what men as soon as 1 year out of college ( 4/24/07)
In Green Bay, Mick Hager (2008) comments that "Income gap, not gender gap, explains differences." Differences in men's and women's income is based on differences in work habits (according to "research"), claims Hager, a "business author and professional speaker." Hager says he'd like to join in the lawsuit when employers "openly discriminating" against women are found.
While looking for a topic this morning, both of these small-time pieces caught my eye - the first because the headline was so misleading, and the second because the premise was just wrong and offensive. First: the StatsCan study shows that female offenders are more likely to be property criminals than male offenders. Or at least, that they're less likely to be arrested for non-property crimes. I suspect there's a serious reporting bias. How many men are going to call the cops when their girlfriend threatens them?
As for Hager, long-time readers of Difference Blog will recognize that I'm a big fan of pointing out alternate explanations for income disparities. Negotiation skills are a major factor (7/31/07, 4/13/07), and absenteeism explains some of the gap, too ( 12/18/06). However, the most damning evidence in favor of a pay gap, in my mind, is that women earn 80% of what men as soon as 1 year out of college ( 4/24/07)