Rhetorical Outbursts

Rich Lowry has an interesting column in National Review today. Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama are both endorsing versions of legislation (the Paycheck Fairness Act and Fair Pay Act respectively) to try to even-out the wage differences between men and women. Is “fairness” all they want or are they looking to eat their cake and have it too?The whole thing reminds me of something I read several years ago…possibly by Christina Hoff-Sommers…about the myth of the glass ceiling. The author pointed out that while some folks are very eager to talk about the inequality of women in the upper echelons of the corporate business world, they are much less likely to talk about the over-representation of men in the most difficult and dangerous jobs such as lumberjacks, sanitation workers, construction crews, etc.

Average earnings for male physicians are $170,000, for female physicians $100,000. Bias? No, as Furchtgott-Roth has noted, “many women choose to go into pediatrics, psychiatry, and family practice, all lower-paying fields than surgery, which is more demanding in terms of hours.” Many women choose professions that are compatible with having kids, and when they have children, they tend to take a break from their careers (whereas men actually work more).