(02/02/04)
I was listening to some women bitch about how they don't get paid as much as men for the same work. I used to think that this was a travesty. After all, the same work should warrant the same pay, right? And then I realized that this idea sounded more like communism than capitalism. After all, women of child-bearing age are a strain on the employer for a number of reasons.
Federal law grants them 6 weeks paid maternity leave if they get pregnant. A woman of child-bearing age is statistically more likely to bear a child than a man of any age (source). Some smaller companies simply cannot afford hiring a temp (or two because the temps won't know how to work efficiently) for 6 weeks while the mother still receives a paycheck. Even worse, new mothers can take advantage of this provision and put in a 2 weeks notice 4 weeks into the leave period, basically quitting their jobs to take care of the new child while squeezing out another 6 weeks pay. Working mothers are alsomore likely to take unpaid family leave because the burden on taking care of a family unfairly falls on the mother. Then there's the personal life. I stumbled across a webpage basically showing that domestic violence often spills over into the workplace. Which brings up another liability from women in the workplace: sex and romance. Sexual harassment, workplace relationships, and all sorts of legal liabilities arise.
Also, many jobs involve physical tasks. For example, at the restaurant where I work, I'm always reaching for items on high shelves for both my female and male coworkers who are shorter than me. News flash: men are, on average, taller than women. I'm not providing a source for this statistic. Yes, I open jars, take out trash, and lift heavy objects (kegs, etc.) for females in the workplace all the time. Should I get paid more? Hell no. Female servers and bartenders are much better at selling food and drink. The waitresses make far more money than the waiters at my restaurant because they sell more food (from what I've seen, 10-20% more every night) and they get a better tip % anyway.
Look. I'm not an asshole or a moron. I know women cannot control their physiological, social, or biological characteristics. It's unfair, but that's how capitalism works. I also know that women do suffer quite a bit from institutional discrimination. Hell, rape laws generally favor rapists over rape victims. A lot of women have legitimate beef with certain things in our society. However, women will be paid more than men in my lifetime; I'm sure of it. Women are currently kicking men's asses at getting all sorts of degrees. Medical schools now have more women than men, so one can safely assume that within a few decades women will greatly outnumber men in the medical profession. Acknowledge the differences and use them to your advantage.
On the other hand, realize that sometimes being a woman is advantageous. Laugh at us men all you want. I mean, hell, turn on the TV and you'll see that the men are either flaming homosexuals, retarded fat bald guys, assholes, or smart, successful, rich guys who make me feel like a failure. Usually some combination of the above. Like successful rich flaming homosexuals who are still retarded assholes. Man, the heterosexual male gets a bad rap in the sitcoms. Women can marry rich. Women usually get the children in custody battles. Women have the right to choose to abort a baby. The man has no legal say whatsoever as to whether she keeps the baby or not, which I find to be unsettling. I know the mother has the heavier burden of raising a child, but imagine if it's a married couple and the woman never wants to have a child. That sucks for the guy. Or alternatively, the girlfriend wants to keep the baby but the boyfriend doesn't, and the boyfriend will have to pay child support for the rest of his life. No matter how much money the guy ends up making, he'll have to give up a sizeable chunk of his income. I think the man should have the right to have SOME say, too.
Whatever. Like I said, just wait and see. Women will be running the show pretty soon. You'll be making more money than us, and the education gap will continue to widen. The first woman president had better not be Hillary Clinton though. She's an opportunistic bitch. Wow this may be the first rambling article where I digress and hop from topic to topic. It's quite fun. Ok I'm done.
