Equal work, equal pay: Governor’s task force to attack pay gap for women

Reproduced here for fair use and discussion purposes. My comments in bold.

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It's interesting to see this story regularly reappear in the media, almost like clockwork. It's just another reason to suspect that the media engage in agenda reporting. Over and over we are subjected to the same stories, probably designed to maintain the preferred issues in the public eye.

What I find particularly interesting about this story is that it concedes that feminists have been lying about the numbers and causes of gender-based wage disparity, and it's a stark, glaring inconsistency. First, the oft-repeated claim that women earn only 77 cents for every dollar men do, invariably blamed on discrimination.  But then Ms. Barbara Wagner is quoted: "Occupation, industry, experience and union status explain roughly half the pay gap, Wagner said, leaving about 41 percent 'unexplained' which 'could be discrimination.'” 

Um, yeah. "Could be." If we can accept Ms. Wagner's statement as accurate, a little math reveals that 100% - 41% = 59% of the disparity is not discrimination at all, which is hardly "roughly half." So, 59% of the 23% disparity, (that is, 100% - 77% = 23%), or 13.57% of the cited figure, should not be counted. If we add that back in, 77% + 13.57%, we get 90.57%. So a little more than 9% "could be discrimination," which is a lot different than 23%. 

In addition, earlier in the article, Mr. Barry Good "agreed it’s a cultural issue that goes back hundreds of years." This means that rather than there being malicious discrimination against women, our society has been structured in such a way that women were more valued as child-raisers, nurturers, and care-givers.  This is not discrimination.

The other thing to note is that Ms. Cruzado, MSU president, said "she doesn’t know yet whether there’s a pay gap among the university’s 3,000 employees." Ho-boy. It takes a lot of gall to stand up and speak at a meeting like this and say, "Let's fix it," but be completely unaware if there is a problem in the very organization she oversees. Astounding! Would it be rude to suggest that she ought to know what's going on in her own pond before she starts passing judgment on others?

Similarly, the State of Montana, presided over by Democratic Governor Steve Bullock, doesn't know if its wage practices are discriminatory. "Two things they plan to do are to conduct an audit of the state’s 13,000 employees to see if there’s a pay gap in state jobs." In other words, this issue has been on the front burner of leftist politics for decades, but two of the major players in this task force don't even know the status of their own organizations!

This is typical for the Left. They are always quick to pass judgment on others, but rarely apply the same standards to themselves. President Obama's staff exhibits the same wage disparity while he proclaims his solidarity with women's issues, yet none of his supporters seem to care. 

I would place this in the same category as "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Mt. 7:3 

Lastly, I wonder if the writer, Gail Schontzler, was the one who asked these uncomfortable questions. She has been less than inquisitive in the past, but perhaps that is changing. If so, she has embarked on the journey to become a real journalist. Kudos.

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By GAIL SCHONTZLER Chronicle Staff Writer

American women workers earn only 77 cents for every $1 men earn and that is “simply unacceptable,” Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Friday in Bozeman at the kickoff for his Equal Pay for Equal Work task force.

When President John Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, U.S. women earned 59 cents for every $1 men earn, and in 50 years that has improved only 18 cents, the governor said.

In Montana, he said, “It’s even worse.”

Montana women earn just 67 cents for every $1 Montana men earn, which means the state is one of the 11 worst for pay gaps.

Bullock created the 12-member task force to investigate and recommend actions that state government can take. He spoke at its first meeting, held at Montana State University’s stadium.

“All our workers deserve a fair wage for a hard day’s work,” Bullock said. As the father of two daughters, he added, he wants to be sure they don’t grow up to face doubts that their work is valued and respected the same as men’s.

Pam Bucy, state commissioner of Labor and Industry, will co-chair the task force with Sheila Hogan, director of the state Department of Administration.

Two things they plan to do are to conduct an audit of the state’s 13,000 employees to see if there’s a pay gap in state jobs. Hogan said they’ll also look into state contracts, which may offer ways to influence the pay gap.

For example, Hogan said, the standard language in state contracts says the contractor will follow federal law. One possibility would be to spell out the federal law on equal pay, to bring it to contractors’ attention.

MSU President Waded Cruzado, a task force member, said she believes one reason for the pay gap is ignorance, and once people become aware they’ll say, “Let’s fix it.” Cruzado said later she doesn’t know yet whether there’s a pay gap among the university’s 3,000 employees.

Billings Mayor Tom Hanel said one reason for the pay gap is that for years people looked at women as belonging in the home, cooking and raising families. That’s changed, he said, but pay hasn’t caught up. Barry Good, dean of Missoula College, agreed it’s a cultural issue that goes back hundreds of years.

Barbara Wagner, chief economist for the state Department of Labor and Industry, said the pay gap can be found in every occupation, every industry, every education level, every age group and every state. It has improved over time, but the rate of improvement has slowed, she said.

One major reason for the gap, she said, is that women choose occupations and industries, like teaching, that pay less than male occupations, like piloting aircraft. Women take time out to have children, and when they do, they earn less. When men become fathers, on the other hand, they earn more.

Occupation, industry, experience and union status explain roughly half the pay gap, Wagner said, leaving about 41 percent “unexplained” which “could be discrimination.”

State Rep. JP Pomnichowski, D-Bozeman, told the task force, “There’s a strange dichotomy in Montana between chivalry and chauvinism.”

“If I work hard and you work hard, my dollar should equal your dollar. It shouldn’t be two-thirds.”

Task force members include representatives of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, labor unions, Native Americans and small business.