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Monday, May 11, 2015

How Large is the So-Called Gender Gap?

Last time I introduced the idea of a psycho fact,
information that has been so frequently and commonly passed along that it is
accepted as true without the need for further investigation or proof.It falls into the category of “everyone knows
that” because everyone says it or hears it so often.The textbook example is the idea that we use
only a small fraction of our brains and have so much untapped potential.(This notion is a staple among the self-help
gurus and motivational speaker crowd.)

Another bit of information that has been repeated so many
times that it has become accepted as fact is that a woman is paid only 77 cents
for every dollar a man earns, usually implying that this is true for exactly
the same job even when age, education, experience, and all other factors are
considered.Related to this is the idea
that men outnumber women in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Math) fields due both to societal pressures portraying these fields as
unfeminine and to a belief by some that women have less aptitude in these areas.

The most recent challenge to the first idea appeared in
Forbes as an in-depth examination of the employment and salary data from the
UK, which shows, when comparing all male workers to all female workers, a similar
gap to that found in the US; and it explains why the UK Statistics Authority
characterizes this conclusion as “highly misleading.” They emphasize the need for accurate
statistics as a guide to government policy.To do that “we need to know how much of that [gap] is because of choices
that people make over working hours, what job they do, the flexibility they
might prefer over pay and so on, and then see what’s left which might be the
result of direct discrimination.”Unless
such a careful comparison is made, the numbers are worthless in guiding policy
decisions.

Digging deeper into the data, the problems are clarified a
bit.“Given the society we do have,
rather than the one that some of us might like, it’s really no surprise at all
that more women work part time than men, what with juggling child care duties.
And it’s also no surprise at all that part timers make less per hour than full
timers.”Some data actually contradicts
the premise showing that women working part time actually make 3.4 % more than
men do, but this is offset by the fact that 4 times as many women opt for part
time work.This choice factor is only
one component of a highly complex calculation and many other factors must be
considered in order to make a fair comparison.The simplistic comparison of all men to all women results in the
popular, but “highly misleading,” 77-cents-due-primarily-to-discrimination
conclusion that many in the US immediately jump to.

On the second point, a recent report from the PBS News Hour
challenges the notion that STEM fields are unattractive to women and that they
are therefore so greatly outnumbered by men.“On closer inspection, it turns out that these ‘truths’ are nothing more
than assumptions, and that these assumptions are inconsistent with the facts.” They go on to tell about, and show graphically,
some STEM fields and academic majors where women actually outnumber men.Despite these facts, well-intentioned institutions
continue to set up educational opportunities and other strategies to try to deprogram
young girls from hating math.It’s a
solution to a non-problem, often funded by taxpayer dollars or charitable
donations that could be better directed.

What is the purpose of the constant repetition of these two related
psycho facts?They likely remain popular
because it places women, in general, in a victim status giving some the
opportunity to vent and to take out their frustrations when things don’t seem
to be going their way.It is not
affirming, not inspiring, not supportive, but it is not intended to be.Rather, the purpose seems to be to give power
to the rescuers who promise results through strikes, protests, or legislative
action; rescuers whose main interest is not justice or equality, but retention
and growth of their own political popularity and power, even if it is based on
a poorly developed and “highly misleading” statistic.

That is not to say there is no discrimination at all, but
those who rely on these sloppy generalizations choose to wallow in victimhood
and be taken advantage of by manipulative public figures rather than taking
responsibility for their own individual situations.

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About Me

is highly qualified to comment on the connection between our behavioral choices and the results we get. His formal education and training in observing and classifying behavior is supported by more than 40 years of practical business experience and 10 years of personal research. He is a West Point graduate with two Master’s degrees in business.
He is also a published author, Master Gardener and RYT200 yoga teacher.