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Considering there is currently a salary gap, however we explain it, and from the law structure the lower paid spouse benefits from being paid less, isn't it a l

by hrktb 8y ago

Considering there is currently a salary gap, however we explain it, and from the law structure the lower paid spouse benefits from being paid less, isn't it a logical move for women to adjust/be adjusted from the start for that situation ? Your points are all correct in general, but I don't see how it goes against the argument of the article. It seems you are detailing the behaviours women end up taking facing the current situation, while the author argues about ways to affect the root cause.

eska 8y ago
Thank you for your reply, hrktb. As I implied in the first paragraph of my previous comment, even if we supposed that no pay gap existed, I don't think that it would solve the problem. Studies have shown what would happen: single women would improve their careers, thereby reducing the amount of men that are doing better than them, thereby reducing the pool of potential spouses they would even consider. Ultimately this would not result in those women picking men that are doing worse than them and have them take care of the household and children, instead they would stay single. So the situation for women that have started a family would not change much, because those are mostly the women who have found somebody at their level of success or above. You're absolutely correct that I'm detailing the behaviors of women. I do so because I recognize the problem you're trying to solve with your suggestion to solve things with policy regarding pay (I assume), but I think the cause is not rooted in policy but in culture, specifically women's ideas of an ideal mate.
- hrktb 8y ago
  I see your point, but is it even possible to build a study demonstrating what would happen if the pay gap disappeared at scale ? Any study that would for instance focus on a microcosm where women earn as much as men wouldn’t be isolated by the rest of society’s effect on the individual’s value system or image of success. What I mean is culture is influenced by reality, movies like Pretty Woman weren’t setup that way by pure imagination, the authors still wanted a somewhat realistic starting situation. Same with parents raising their kids, the culture they foster depends on their experience of life. If for their whole existence women couldn’t build a family without their career getting in the way, they’ll hedge their bets when raising their daughters. I don’t think the author’s proposition will easily pass in the current political climate, but I’d see the value in trying to change reality first, to have people acknowledge that the game has changed, and think for themselves better strategies for their life. I’d compare it as how family values have changed in countries where elderly get government help. While for centuries they’d clinge to their kids as the primary source of retirement support, once a generation or two actualy saw that they could mostly get by by themselves, kids/parents relations changed, culture changed.

by hrktb 8y ago

eska 8y ago

Thank you for your reply, hrktb. As I implied in the first paragraph of my previous comment, even if we supposed that no pay gap existed, I don't think that it would solve the problem. Studies have shown what would happen: single women would improve their careers, thereby reducing the amount of men that are doing better than them, thereby reducing the pool of potential spouses they would even consider. Ultimately this would not result in those women picking men that are doing worse than them and have them take care of the household and children, instead they would stay single. So the situation for women that have started a family would not change much, because those are mostly the women who have found somebody at their level of success or above. You're absolutely correct that I'm detailing the behaviors of women. I do so because I recognize the problem you're trying to solve with your suggestion to solve things with policy regarding pay (I assume), but I think the cause is not rooted in policy but in culture, specifically women's ideas of an ideal mate.

hrktb 8y ago
I see your point, but is it even possible to build a study demonstrating what would happen if the pay gap disappeared at scale ? Any study that would for instance focus on a microcosm where women earn as much as men wouldn’t be isolated by the rest of society’s effect on the individual’s value system or image of success. What I mean is culture is influenced by reality, movies like Pretty Woman weren’t setup that way by pure imagination, the authors still wanted a somewhat realistic starting situation. Same with parents raising their kids, the culture they foster depends on their experience of life. If for their whole existence women couldn’t build a family without their career getting in the way, they’ll hedge their bets when raising their daughters. I don’t think the author’s proposition will easily pass in the current political climate, but I’d see the value in trying to change reality first, to have people acknowledge that the game has changed, and think for themselves better strategies for their life. I’d compare it as how family values have changed in countries where elderly get government help. While for centuries they’d clinge to their kids as the primary source of retirement support, once a generation or two actualy saw that they could mostly get by by themselves, kids/parents relations changed, culture changed.