Wednesday, April 10, 2013

National Equal Pay Day, April 9, declared

According to John Goodman in his Health Alert Letter:

A recent study shows. . ."no evidence that antidiscrimination policies have made a difference, including the actions of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). . .  In addition to years of schooling and test scores, men and women differ in the amount of work they do. Men are more likely to work full-time; and among full time workers, men work 8%-10% more hours than women.  Also, men typically accumulate more continuous work experience and therefore acquire higher productivity in the labor market.  The gender gap shrinks to only 3½ % when adjustments are made for work experience, career breaks and part-time work."

My favorite equal pay story: One time I asked my boss Jay Ladd why Bruce (a librarian) made more money than I did when we had the same years of experience, almost the same name, and were both science librarians. He said, "Because he asked for more."

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