Thursday, June 23, 2005

A Swedish pay gap?

Feminists often complain that women are paid less than men. Their complaint, however, is usually exaggerated. As this new Swedish research shows the pay gap is much less than feminists claim (only 5% in Sweden) and the reason it exists has more to do with the jobs women choose than with any patriarchal bias.

Nor is it such a bad thing if men end up earning more than women. All this means is that men are working hard to support their families materially and that women are dedicating at least part of their time to caring for their children. The extra money that men earn, in other words, is not used to somehow oppress women, but rather to allow women to mother their children.

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