Coddling, Ugh... Options

[*CrackedRearView*]

I was the center of a very heated debate in my Lit class today...

We were reading about the advancement of women via The Norton Reader...and our instructor asked us a critical thinking question, I can't remember it now, but it sparked the debate.

A propos, I was pitted against the most liberal person I know, Courtney Brown, and she despises the fact that I'm the most conservative guy in the class.

So, long story short -- she goes off on a spiel about how women still don't get paid as much as men in the working world, I reply with the fact that over half of all wall street CEO's are now women, she returns with "It's only fair to give the qualified women the jobs."

It disgusts me...why should we have to coddle different races/genders now?

It happened, it's done, move on.

She said something along the lines of "Well, the guy's have had the stage for thousands of years, it's our turn now."

Actually sweetheart, I've only been here for 17. It's not mine nor any of my colleagues goddamn problems.

[ComradeRed]

Women, on average, are paid lower than men for one simple reason: They tend to major in lower-paying fields in college.

The highest paying college major is Chemical Engineering, a major that is over 2/3 male -- by their own choice (note that, overall, colleges are 55% female -- even the Ivies). It's just that women TEND TO CHOOSE to major in lower-paying fields such as social sciences and humanities. The only way to really create income equality is therefore to create equality in college majors -- by FORCING men and women to major in fields that they do not want to.

The average Chemical Engineering major makes $51,000 right out of college, compared to only $32,000 for a history major or $30,000 for an English major or $27,000 for a psychology major. Women are more likely than men to major in these social and humanities fields, and thus make less money out of college.

Moreover, even if a woman's total reported income is lower, you have to remember that an employer hiring a woman has to give that woman maternity pay, maternity leave, etc. All of this COSTS MONEY. So if a man and a woman are equally qualified and requesting the same pay, chances are employers will choose the man -- simply because by hiring the woman, they will have to pay for her maternity leave, pay, etc.

This fact accounts for the fact that men SOMETIMES make more money in the same job than women -- simply because if a woman gets pregnant, an employer basically has to support her for an entire year. Whereas a man would be able to work all the time. The women look like they are making less money, but actually work fewer hours and including maternity pay make about the same.

If a woman wants equal pay as a man -- she should do equal work. She should major in the high-paying engineering fields, work 50 hours a week, and abstain from getting pregnant -- just like highly-paid males.