Wow: Linda Hirshman on the wage gap

[bosssio]

Wow, I am not sure exactly where to start with her analysis, other than yet again, the fault for gender discrimination, according to her, is laid at women's feet.

--
You're Not Earning as Much as the Guys? Here's Why.

By Linda Hirshman Sunday, June 3, 2007; Page B01

Ah, graduation -- that time of optimism, of looking to the future and its

Comments

[rivka]

Oh my God, I'm tearing my hair out.

This male classics major who is giving up his "passion" in order to go into finance... is someone being held up for women to emulate? What the hell? It's so ludicrously reductionistic. The only value of a career is the salary.

[kcobweb]

But that's his *job* - to be a provider.

Gods, it's just like my grandfather, who wanted to be an artist, but his parents wouldn't let him, so he went into insurance. No wonder he drank.

[bosssio]

I agree and you bring up an excellent point - I do think we do a disservice to our cause when we forget how constrained MEN are in their life choices by strict gender roles. How many artists or teachers or at home dads are we cheated out of because of this equation that male=breadwinner.

Interestingly, when I went back for my 10 year high school reunion a few years back, two guys (out of a class of 58) - completely separately - had made a ton of $$ in business, were burnt out, and were going to get their teaching certification because they desperately wanted some meaning in their lives. They had that "luxury" now because they had been smart with their earnings (and weren't married/had kids).

[kathrynt]

This, exactly. I'm finding as I look around me more and more that there are a lot of different models of "good woman" even in the most shallow pop-culture stereotype; there's the Ass-Kicking Adventurer, the Domestic Goddess, the High-Powered Professional, the Sexpot, the Supermom, the Spiritual Guru. But there's really only one model for "Good Man;" aggressive, well-compensated, unemotional, and a good provider.

I'm not saying that the "Good Woman" models are acheivable or empowering, just that they're diverse. The presence of a diversity of options implies that other, undiscovered options are also available. But if you're given one option for Success and numerous other options for Failure, it's a lot harder to internalize that there might be alternative Success conditions.

[bosssio]

Yup, basically the argument seems to be:

1. women complain about earning less than men

2. but they earn less than men because they choose careers/majors which earn less money

3. therefore, since this is their choice, they should either
- shut up
- choose careers/majors that earn as much as men

[bosssio]

Further thought.

well, hell Linda, why didn't we realize that to address gender discrimination, we just had to behave exactly like men and then boom, no more gender discrimination. Wow, I had no clue it would be sooo easy and that no one ever thought of that before.

Thanks.

- feeling rather snippy this evening...