Gender pay gap

[Kinser79]

(05-17-2016, 03:50 PM)Emman85 Wrote: I don't know how engage this "wage gap" discussion, as a black male my race/gender group has a lower median income compared to white women and asian women, Latino men have it even worse, they only make around 61 cents to the dollar. Latino and black men's lower wages is rarely if ever brought up in the wage gap discussions, also if race is brought up they compare different racial groups of women's incomes to a white man's dollar but asian men have the highest income and asian women will soon be catching up with white men.

First let me state, if you don't know already I too am a black male. There really isn't a racial wage gap either. Like with women, if a business can save X% on wages by hiring a black or Latino they will do so. No economist of any note takes any of the wage gap arguments seriously because it is based on false statistics.

Second, a great deal of the problem with the wages that Blacks and Latinos earn have to do with education, principly the lack of it. Generally speaking persons with degrees or skills earn more than those without degrees or skills. A large proportion of blacks and latinos have no degree and are unskilled. As such the best way to raise the median wages of both groups is to increase the proportion of persons who do have degrees and do have skills.

It should be noted that my uncle is a skilled tile setter, he makes more than my white boyfriend who has a degree. He also makes more than me, but then again my BF also makes more than me. I could if I wanted to live in New York or Chicago or LA far more money--I have a culinary degree. Instead I choose to manage the local Dunkin Donuts because my family is not in New York, Chicago or LA and I have little interest in involving myself in the rough and tumble world of competing for a Michelin Star (or three).

In short I make less money than I could because I exercised my agency to pursue something I consider of greater value.

Quote:I also feel the whole wage gap discussion is based on very deceptive grounds(from feminists), they throw that "78 cents to a man's dollar" like that's actually equal pay to equal work. I agree with Bronco80 that there's many different factors involved for why women earn less.

Off the top of my head the following variables are in play at any given time when comparing pay.

--type of work
--the danger of the work (the more dangerious the higher the pay)
--Union membership if any
--Required education (the more education you need the higher the pay, usually)
--Experience gained (the more experience the more one is paid)
--Amount of time worked. (People who work part-time or don't work overtime are paid less than people who work obscene amounts of overtime).