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I mean, you could have said the same about blacks in the decades between emancipation and the civil rights movement. Certainly, there were some people who took

by koboll 8y ago

I mean, you could have said the same about blacks in the decades between emancipation and the civil rights movement. Certainly, there were some people who took advantage of those arbitrage opportunities to some extent. But in the case of anti-black racism, it truly was a case of human prejudice outweighing market incentives, for a very long time.

wallace_f 8y ago
In fact, when the dial was turned up all the way on prejudice and discrimination, slavery was the result, as an extreme version of this ability to arbitrage the pay gap. As insane and unjust as that was, that really existed. Today, if there is a pay gap it would be exploitable, no? Salaries are typically the by far the most expensive cost for most tech startups. Discrimination against women is illegal and socially shunned today. So what's stopping entrepreneurs from arbitraging this opportunity?
- warp_factor 8y ago
  Because there is no such opportunity. This whole "0.70$ per 1.00$ from men", doesn't take into account different professions for example.
  - stcredzero 8y ago
    According to John Green, the actual gender pay gap is more like 8%. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it0EYBBl5LI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it0EYBBl5LI
stcredzero 8y ago
I mean, you could have said the same about blacks in the decades between emancipation and the civil rights movement. I think Jesse Lee Peterson might have something to say with regards to that. I suspect that there were perceptive people who took advantage of societal conditions and hired industrious people for less money. But in the case of anti-black racism, it truly was a case of human prejudice outweighing market incentives, for a very long time. According to Thomas Sowell, with some kinds of work, some American slaves were paid additional bonuses for certain kinds of work requiring care and attention to detail. Otherwise, the proper level of motivation couldn't be maintained even through torture. Biases certainly can distort market forces, but the market forces will also bend society. Southern bus and train lines were opposing Jim Crow laws quite early on because they didn't want to spend money on extra vehicles/train cars.

by koboll 8y ago

wallace_f 8y ago

In fact, when the dial was turned up all the way on prejudice and discrimination, slavery was the result, as an extreme version of this ability to arbitrage the pay gap. As insane and unjust as that was, that really existed. Today, if there is a pay gap it would be exploitable, no? Salaries are typically the by far the most expensive cost for most tech startups. Discrimination against women is illegal and socially shunned today. So what's stopping entrepreneurs from arbitraging this opportunity?

warp_factor 8y ago
Because there is no such opportunity. This whole "0.70$ per 1.00$ from men", doesn't take into account different professions for example.
- stcredzero 8y ago
  According to John Green, the actual gender pay gap is more like 8%. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it0EYBBl5LI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it0EYBBl5LI

stcredzero 8y ago

I mean, you could have said the same about blacks in the decades between emancipation and the civil rights movement. I think Jesse Lee Peterson might have something to say with regards to that. I suspect that there were perceptive people who took advantage of societal conditions and hired industrious people for less money. But in the case of anti-black racism, it truly was a case of human prejudice outweighing market incentives, for a very long time. According to Thomas Sowell, with some kinds of work, some American slaves were paid additional bonuses for certain kinds of work requiring care and attention to detail. Otherwise, the proper level of motivation couldn't be maintained even through torture. Biases certainly can distort market forces, but the market forces will also bend society. Southern bus and train lines were opposing Jim Crow laws quite early on because they didn't want to spend money on extra vehicles/train cars.