Dan

Calabrese

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April 28, 2008

Women Will Always Make Less for ‘Equal Work’

The Democratic Congress, which has accomplished basically none of its stated agenda, has decided to try running American businesses instead. After all, they couldn’t do any worse.

Don’t overestimate them.

Last week the honorables gathered – only after giving Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama extra time to get there from the campaign trail – to vote on a measure that would have made it easier for women to sue for employment discrimination. The issues largely concern the notion of “equal pay for equal work,” and the bill would extend and redefine the statute of limitations so women could wait until longer after an alleged incident of discrimination to sue.

The bill, which faces a sure veto by President Bush, is fundamentally flawed because its premise is wrong. Women do make less than men, on average, for “equal work.” That’s true. Or it would be true, if there was such a thing as “equal work.” There is not.

Employment in America is a series of millions of consenting agreements between parties. Everyone who earns a wage or salary made an agreement to work for that wage or salary. You re-affirm that agreement every day when you show up and punch in.

Pointing this out is usually derided as “blaming the victim,” but only the most condescending view of women would label a party to such an agreement as a victim. There are no victims in mutual, voluntary agreements. There are only people who made decisions.

It is possible that men are better negotiators than women, but it is more likely that the average compensation of women is driven down by biological distinctions that can never change. No matter how many bills Democrats introduce, men will never:

• Get pregnant and have babies, thus necessitating maternity leaves that last several months (unless the leave-taker changes her mind and decides not to return)
• Be the parents most likely to stay home or unexpectedly leave work to get the kids when they are sick or the day-care provider is sick
• Be the parents most likely to leave the workforce for anywhere from five to 25 years to stay home with the kids; some men do this, but they will remain a tiny minority forever, and you know it.

As long as a substantial percentage of women are doing these three things, and they always will, women will always make less than men, on average, for “equal work.” That’s because there is no such thing as equal work.

You can have seven people in a company who hold the same position. Many factors will determine the compensation of each. What is the person’s level of experience? What has been the person’s long-term track record? Is the person always available and always reliable? If you are strong on all counts, you will make more money than someone with the same title whose record is spotty.

Is it reasonable to expect that an employer will let you leave work if you have a sick kid? I say yes, and I’ve been a business owner with many female employees – including some with kids and some without. No reprisals are appropriate for such a situation.

That said, take two account executives in a professional service firm. One misses or has to reschedule five client meetings in a six-month period. One keeps every one without fail. Which employee is more effective? Obviously, the latter, and the two employees’ respective salaries will reflect that. The latter employee is a better candidate for promotion too.

Since women are more likely to face the kinds of complications we’re talking about here, they’re going to face more hurdles to advancement and better pay. Could men stay home with the kids and go pick them up from the day-care provider? Sure. But these are decisions for families to make, and as long as more families choose the woman for that role, the dynamic will not change.

Many women with kids manage to be highly effective and completely reliable in their jobs. If you took a subset consisting of this group, plus women with no kids, and compared only their salaries to those of men in similar positions, I bet you would find the pay disparity to be far less than the one between all women and all men.

If you want to make more money, the answer is not to sue. It’s to make a decision about your priorities. Making motherhood your top priority is an excellent choice. Trying to give motherhood and career equal weight is fine if you want to try it. Farm the kids out to daycare and do the career thing 100 percent? Hey, it’s your choice, but those who can dedicate themselves entirely to their careers will always make more money than those who can’t.

If you can’t, you will make less. Conversely, if you’re really doing as good a job as the guy down the hall, but you’re still making less, negotiate a better salary. If they tell you no, get what you’re worth from someone else. You’re not an indentured servant, and contrary to what the Democrats think, you’re not a victim. You’re just a person who sets priorities and makes decisions like everyone else.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

This is Column # DC169.  Request permission to publish here.