A Handy Meme About That Mystical Wage Gap Thingy

Last night, I posted this on our facebook page:

Now, because that's just a quick meme thingy I threw together in approximately 2 minutes, it doesn't offer a full and thorough explanation of how the wage gap has been debunked, time and again.  We've talked about that a LOT on this site, and the purpose of memes isn't to thoroughly explain an issue, but to start a discussion

Which it did. 

But here's what I wanted to address, because as I suspected, people saw this meme and immediately tried to counter it with stuff like this:

1.  But but but Chicks – you're not taking into account that productivity DOES differ in men and women when you factor in maternity leaves and breaks in work to care for children!

2.  But but but Chicks – you're not taking into account the fact that employers DISCRIMINATE against women! They don't believe women are as capable as men!

3.  But but but Chicks – this study and that study and the other study and my own personal anecdotal evidence!! WAAAAAH!

Listen – I know the meme doesn't capture all the nuances of the wage gap debate.  It's not meant to. It's meant to make people stop and consider how completely counterproductive it would be for employers all over the country to purposefully pay women less, AND continue to hire lots of men.

Does that mean that I believe no employers discriminate?  Of course not.  Some do, and when they do, they are BREAKING THE LAW.  And if a woman has evidence that she is being discriminated against, then she should seek help making sure the law is enforced.  That's the whole point of the Equal Pay Act, which has been around for decades.

There are always women out there who will write us and say, "But I'm making way less than this dude or that dude and I am just as awesome and experienced and great at my job as this dude or that dude."  To which I say, "Then why the heck aren't you doing something about that?"  Women have choices.  Either file a complaint, or get another job, or both. Because for every message like that we get, we also get those which say, "I'm a chick and I make more than the guys I work with." 

The problem with the 77-cents-on-the-dollar myth is that it doesn't take into account any of the variables.  So, while women might make less on average than men, it's not for the same work.  It's apples and oranges. Why do so many people (including Obama, who regurgitates this myth like it's his personal daily affirmation) not understand that?

Feminists always want to say that they can do anything men can do, that they're as valuable, as productive, etc.  And I don't disagree with that premise.  But I also recognize that women often CHOOSE lower paying careers.  They often CHOOSE to take more time off to raise children than men do.  They choose more flexible and sometimes part time jobs and careers. But if feminists want to own the argument that women are EVERY BIT as productive as men in the workplace, and ignore those simple facts I just listed, then they need to own how absurd it is that men are ever hired at any company ever.  For-profit companies, particularly publicly-held ones, are responsible, to their shareholders, for making a profit.  That's their job.  And if they could simply hire women at the rate that feminists insist women are getting in comparison to men, then it stands to reason that they'd hire a LOT more women, and a LOT fewer men.  It's simple math.

UNLESS, of course, that math isn't accurate.

Which is the point of the meme.