Mind the Gap! Savvy answers for Sassy women to bust the pay gap justification myths!
So, there has been a real hullabaloo about the BBC and their curious way of paying women far less than men. As soon as we women get lippy about it you can guarantee that there are people who love peddling myths as to why it is okay to pay women differently! Some even like to throw in inexcusable racism whilst they are at it! Sunday Times Sack Journalist Over Racist/Sexist Pay Gap Article. How much longer do you think the Editor will last?!
So, there has been a real hullabaloo about the BBC and their curious way of paying women far less than men. As soon as we women get lippy about it you can guarantee that there are people who love peddling myths as to why it is okay to pay women differently! Some even like to throw in inexcusable racism whilst they are at it! Sunday Times Sack Journalist Over Racist/Sexist Pay Gap Article. How much longer do you think the Editor will last?!
To help you get through any argument you may encounter over coffee
or a bottle of something fresh and fruity, I have compiled a list of commonly
peddled myths/pathetic arguments and some great answers for you! I have kept it
clean although to be honest it would be easier to just laugh at them and call
them a co**womble! But, as we are intelligent women we won’t stoop to such
levels!
Before you get reading let me just say I don't hate men at all, it's the system and culture that riles me!
Let’s go…….
Myth
1
Women
who don’t have children earn more. If a woman wants to have children and look
after them that is her fault!
Before I
leap in…...I thought it took two to tango! If this argument stacks up and
women could earn more money than men, men would have to have babies and stay at
home. How long would it be until humans became extinct?!
Proper reply: This
really gets my goat. It has only been in the last 2 ½ years that shared
parental leave has existed! Before this only woman were entitled to any leave
after giving birth. Huge choice there huh?! https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/childcare-costs#how-much-does-childcare-cost
Given the extraordinary high costs of childcare which in London is
around £14,000 per year and £12,000 in the rest of the UK for full time child
care for one child under 2, there isn’t a huge amount of choice here. To pay
these costs you will need to earn at least £20,000. How many men do you know
who have leapt at the chance to stay at home raising children? There are some,
granted, but the majority don’t rush to offer!
Myth2
Young
women earn more than men!
Women who are aged 22 – 29 have been found to earn more money than
men of the same age by around £1000 per annum. However, once a woman hits her
30s it’s all downhill from then on. That just doesn’t cover basic salary but
also bonuses. Interestingly a study by the Press
Association discovered that teenage girls earn less than teenage boys. Girls
saw a 26.4% pay drop and boys just 1% over a period of 6 years!
Myth
3
Men
work longer hours than women so they deserve more!
Ha-ha! Put
this in your pipe and smoke it!........the gender pay gap is calculated by
looking at hourly rates of pay!
And here’s another! …... If the figures were calculated using annual
salaries, then the pay gap would rise to 31% throughout the EU! Tell them ever
so politely to “zip it”!
Myth
3
Men
are better at the job so that’s why they get paid more.
Oh Lordy! More to
the point it seems to be a habit to pay men more rather than based upon merit
and ability. An American study showed that boys are 15% more likely to be paid for
doing jobs around the house than girls are. So, the pay gap is in existence
even before they start work. Men aren’t better than women…. it’s a cultural
habit.
Myth
4
Women
aren’t as good at negotiating pay rises as men.
Just reflect on that for a moment. It is truly significant.
There are countless studies showing that women aren’t as good as
negotiating a pay rise and this is because of business culture. It is still a man’s
world and can be very aggressive. Women by nature are not aggressive beings.
The entire corporate culture needs a good shake up. If women were treated
respectfully and valued like the testicle swingers there wouldn’t be an issue
here.
Male managers tend to have a positive bias towards men that they may
not be conscious of. Male managers hire more men, promote more men and pay
higher salaries to men. Fact. BTW
90% of CEOs in the FTSE 100 companies are…. you guessed it…. male!
Myth
5
Men
must go to work and earn more than women to support their families.
The problem here is not pay gaps but the extortionate cost of
child care! Childcare needs to come down and parental leave needs to be
improved. This might stop men being so stressy at work too if they didn’t feel
the need to carry all the burden. Removing this from men would give them a better work life balance too.
Myth
6
Women
win really because they live longer and get a pension for longer.
What kind of halfwit came up with this one?!
Due to the gender pay gap women earn less than men over their
lifetime. This means they contribute less to their pension and ergo their
pension is lower! Shockingly 22% of women over the age of 65 are at risk of
poverty. Men are 16% more likely. This is clearly wrong for both genders.
Myth
7
Women
are so stupid to assume that all companies hate women so pay them less.
Okay stupid! That isn’t what’s being said. There are myriad
reasons the gap exists. As already discussed there are other issues such as exorbitant
childcare costs, gender stereotyping or being advised to go into lower paid “women’s
jobs” like nursing or teaching.
Myth
8
You
"feminists" are always whining. Haven’t you got bigger issues to whinge about?
This is the one we hear all the time! Boring! The fact that “feminism”
still exists in 2017 tells us a lot.
Okay, mostly the British culture is egalitarian and we can dress
as we please and the majority of us can choose our own partner if we want one, however,
the pay gap does exist and has far reaching effects on society. This
article is well worth a read.
We will complain as long it takes for us to have equality in every
area of life and we won’t be feeling guilty about it. I can’t imagine there is
any man out there who wants to see his wife, daughter or mother treated as less
worthy than himself? Wanting equality is not just a female endeavour, plenty of men completely agree with us. I loved this humorous meme!
Not sure about you, but I
want to be treated equally not almost equally? Ask the person who comes out
with such a daft statement about “feminists” how they would feel if the boot
was on the other foot?
And finally……
Myth
9
Women
don’t earn as much for a business as men do so it is sound business sense to
pay women less.
Not true!
Gender pay
discrimination does not make economic sense as companies perform better
financially when they appoint more women to management roles. A 2011 survey by Catalyst found that a boardroom consisting of 19 to 44
percent women achieved 26 percent more return on capital employed than businesses
with no female board members. Furthermore, businesses make it difficult for
themselves to create great women managers to senior roles as they know they
will be remunerated poorly in comparison to males in the same roles.
What kind of arguments have you heard to justify the
gender pay gap? I would love to know! Have you got any witty answers to these
attempted justifications? Please do leave your answers in the comments section
below…………
Have a great day!
Namaste
Janie S xxx
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