30 years on from the passing of the Sex Discrimination Act there remains a persistent average full time pay gap between men and women of 17.1% which widens to 38.4% for part time work.
The legal sector is one of the worst offenders with a whopping average 21% pay gap. In 2004 female assistants earnt on average 13k less than male assistants.
67,000 equal pay cases filed over the last 30 years are only the tip of the iceberg; many women are either ignorant of their rights or too scared of the implications to take action. Ruthie will state here what others are reluctant to say: for some women to earn more, some men must earn less, and there remains a cultural expectation that a man must be a bread winner and a woman takes primary responsibility for childcare. Until those expections are changed the gap will remain. Of course thats a simplistic view, but in my view is the heart of the problem. Gender identity is in transition, and as expections change so do tolerance levels, which might be one explanation for the tragically high rate of relationship breakdown our society is currently experiencing. Ruthie also wonders about the next generation, as the professional classes are no longer reproducing. Childcare is hard work, and given a large income and a nice life, a lot of rich successful women would rather save themselves the aggravation. Doesn’t do a lot for the gene pool though.
This doea not surprise me that this happens in the legal sector.The sector is mainly sexist and racist and solicitors and barristers think that they are above everyone else,so this is bound to happen.
This from one of the world’s leading economists is a good-but-quick overview of the real reasons behind the pay gap…
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/bcaplan/e321/lab7.htm
The gene pool is only the half of our worries. See this for where the feminists and their disastrous policies are leading us…
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/homeaffairs/story/0,,1724064,00.html
Germany or Italy will collapse before we will. Unless of course we get overrun from inside (para 4 onwards)…
http://www.ureader.co.uk/message/1554958.aspx
Whilst I don’t wholely agree with the analysis, certainly the discussion about the pay gap is an interesting read. To achieve real equality of opportunity it seem that the issue of time out required for child rearing needs to be addressed. Ruthie suggests more flexible working patterns for all employees might be an answer. (The modern job market seems to lend itself to more flexible working patterns in any event whilch moight improve the lifestyles of all employees and not just those with children). A change of culture regarding the role of fathers in child rearing also needs to occur to make it work.