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Wisconsin State Senator Says Women Are Paid Less Because ?Money Is More Important For Men?

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Re: Wisconsin State Senator Says Women Are Paid Less Because ?Money Is More Important For Men?

  • imagePamela05:
    imagemsmerymac:

    Which is why a culture that values women as productive members of society would work with that, by allowing for flexible employment (part time, 4 ten-hour days, telecommuting, flexible hours, on-site child care, paid mat leave). There are things companies can do which can both get the kind of production they need out of their employees and allow their employees to have time with their families and deal with doctor's appointments and child care.

    Other than  flexible hours and 4-10s (and even that to some extent), each of those alternatives costs the company money and therefore is made up in the employee being compensated less for those perks.  Flexible work hours/4-10s for only part of a company, make it more difficult to sync work that involves multiple people/departments. 

    My dad works from home, since he's the only person who works for his company within 200 miles (company is based in Manhattan). He travels about 4 days a week and does office stuff 1 day a week. He might work 10-12 hour days during his busy season (January-April), but might be able to quit by 2 in the summer, which is perfect, since he lives on a lake and has kayaks and a power boat. The company needs someone in his area. They certainly don't want to waste money renting out an office space if they don't have to. They give him equipment (laptop, cell phone, printer) every few years, so they're out maybe a few thousand a year for technology, which they would be at an actual office anyway. And he has a company car, which he needs anyway. I fail to see how it's more expensive. He flies into NYC twice a year for meetings, etc, so I guess you can argue that they pay for his flight and hotel, but that's hardly more than paying for office space.

    imagemysticporter:
    Putting all that aside, though, I think it's a red herring, since I strongly believe there's inequality problems that lead to the male/female pay gap that have nothing to do with time off from work whatsoever.

    Actually, I totally agree. I think the assumption that women only do certain types of jobs, or that women will eventually get married and have kids and focus on that also keeps employers from paying women more. I also recall a study that claimed that men are better salary negotiators than women, and I'm pretty sure my former coworker, who was male and did the same job I did, made more than me. And I'm pretty sure it's because he asked for more money from the get-go and they were willing to pay it.

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  • imagerayskit10:
    imageLittleMoxie:

    The problem is that only women HAVE to take some time off.  I've never heard of someone taking zero days and going back to work the day after the baby was born, on a weekend, of course (well, excluding the Russian mail order bride blogging type of jobs).  Employers expect that you will cause some inconvenience. 

    Um... I know someone like that. I have a good friend who is a lawyer. Her husband is also a lawyer. She never wanted kids- super career focused with a Master's in Molecular Biology and a JD. She does high level patent law for an international law firm. After they were married for a few years, her husband decided he really wanted kids. She acquiesced and then when she was newly pregnant she was 'nominated' for partner. Her firm is total old boy network and her attitude was "I am not going to let this pregnancy stop me from making partner," so she had a scheduled c-section on Friday and Monday was at the office. Granted, she didn't work a full day and her husband had to drive her to the office, but she had that all important face time. Her husband, who was not a partner, took a 3 mos paternity leave from the firm he worked at then (which is where my husband still works) and she was back full time about 8 days after the birth.

    With her 2nd, she was already a partner, so she took a week off. Once again, her husband took 3 mos from his new firm, where he was made partner the year before. 

    She makes more than him. A lot more. 

    OK, cool.  Is this the only way women deserve to keep the pay gap closed?  It seems a bit extreme.

    I wonder if she'd taken 3 months off twice if she would have made partner.  She obviously seems to think not.  Does that say anything?

  • I've met Grothman on many occasions.  I grew up in his district.

    Plain and simple, he's an ass. 

    I actually clerked for the Senate and he point blank told me not to go to law school because it was a waste of time.  I then said to him, didn't you go to law school?  He said yes, but that was different.  He then failed to write my very standard letter of rec that all reps fill out for constituents.  I then went to Fred Risser who was the rep for my college area.  He wrote it out same day.  I heart Fred Risser.

    Funny part, my mom saw Grothman a few days after that incident and she ripped him a new one.  She told him to go apologize to me or she would spread the information around town.  (My mom knows a ridiculous amount of people in his district.)  He actually came to the clerk's office to apologize, but I wasn't there.  He left me a note of apology.

    Doesn't change him being an ass.  I think he was scared of my mama.

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  • imagemsmerymac:

    Actually, I totally agree. I think the assumption that women only do certain types of jobs, or that women will eventually get married and have kids and focus on that also keeps employers from paying women more. I also recall a study that claimed that men are better salary negotiators than women, and I'm pretty sure my former coworker, who was male and did the same job I did, made more than me. And I'm pretty sure it's because he asked for more money from the get-go and they were willing to pay it.

    I've read a similar study.  I think the really interesting thing that came out is that men tend to be more aggressive salary negotiators than women.  However, men who were aggressive salary negotiators were viewed either positively or neutrally, whereas women who were aggressive salary negotiators were viewed negatively (as pushy and poor employees, not team players, something like that), so there was no way for the women to "win".


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  • imageLittleMoxie:
    OK, cool.  Is this the only way women deserve to keep the pay gap closed?  It seems a bit extreme.

    I wonder if she'd taken 3 months off twice if she would have made partner.  She obviously seems to think not.  Does that say anything?

    Yeah, it is extreme. It shows the lengths women have to go to for equality. It says a lot about how women are treated and viewed. The fact that she makes more than her husband is more a result of her working at a big firm in a highly technical, highly specialized area and him working in a small firm that does construction law. 

    image
  • imagemsmerymac:

    Actually, I totally agree. I think the assumption that women only do certain types of jobs, or that women will eventually get married and have kids and focus on that also keeps employers from paying women more. I also recall a study that claimed that men are better salary negotiators than women, and I'm pretty sure my former coworker, who was male and did the same job I did, made more than me. And I'm pretty sure it's because he asked for more money from the get-go and they were willing to pay it.

    Yup, this is the real issue. I love this:

    You could argue that money is more important for men. I think a guy in their first job, maybe because they expect to be a breadwinner someday, may be a little more money-conscious. To attribute everything to a so-called bias in the workplace is just not true.

    Um, sir, assuming that men are more "money-conscious" because they expect to be a breadwinner IS bias.

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  • imagecurlydoglover:

    I just can't anymore. I know this should infuriate me.  And it does.  But I've reached a point where I'm at the bottom of the fury well and I'm coming up dry.

    We can't recall these a$sholes fast enough.

    Yes 

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  • imagebrideymcbriderson:

      I am, and very well may always be, the "breadwinner" in my marriage.

    Maybe we can start a club? There was a article here (that i can't find) about men being more likely to marry up now than women....

    The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.
  • imagemxolisi:
    imagebrideymcbriderson:
    imagemxolisi:

    Bridey, curly et al, I don't know how you live amongst these crazies! 

    And yet you manage to live among the crazies who voted for Marion Barry in 1994.

    Seriously! He is still on the city council nearly 20 years later! We all have our own special crazies.  

    well you can trust that he will keep his campaign promises of "let's all smoke crack" so that's something.
    image
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