The latest piece of proposed government intrusion into American business is the so-called Paycheck Fairness Act.\u00a0The problem this bill purports to solve is the alleged discrepancy between the wages of men and women in the U.S. workforce. Across the board, women earn 77% of what men earn in “similar jobs.” Based on this statistic–it’s questionable but I don’t debate it here–we are supposed to conclude that evil corporations are conspiring to discriminate against women.<\/p>\n
The flaws in this argument are clear. First, it begins with the Marxian premise that workers have not choice but to accept any wage they are offered. However, the employment contract works both ways. Individuals who aren’t offered sufficient wages are free to seek employment elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Second, if women are willing to work for 23% less than men, then savvy companies would hire more women until the disparity disappeared. If the left is correct and evil corporations are only interested in profits, then why wouldn’t they hire only women instead of overpaying men to do the same work?<\/p>\n
Finally, the 77% statistic assumes that all employment and employees are equal. As a group, women are more likely to leave the workforce for family considerations and reenter the job market later in their lives. Likewise, men are more likely to pursue employment that requires longer hours, overnight travel, and other sacrifices in exchange for additional compensation. Put another way, although not true in every individual case, women tend to prefer<\/em> different kinds of jobs and are willing to accept lower wages in exchange for more desirable working conditions as part of the package.\u00a0Economist Thomas Sowell has crunched the numbers and dispels the gender-pay myth brilliantly, so I’ll refer interested readers who seek additional details to his explanation:<\/p>\n