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If there is gender discrimination in pay, then this is the kind of thing that the market will eventually figure out, provided that not everybody actually believ
by hugh3 16y ago
If there is gender discrimination in pay, then this is the kind of thing that the market will eventually figure out, provided that not everybody actually believes that the labour of one sex is worth more than the labour of the other.
If Alice is underpaid relative to Bob at company X (or for that matter, if Bob is underpaid relative to Alice, or if Bob is underpaid relative to Charlie) then some smart employer from company Y will figure this out and offer Alice a job for slightly more money. Nature abhors arbitrage, and employers won't go round hiring men for more money if they can get the same quality work out of women for less money.
- nhaehnle 16y agoThe market is not some magic fairy, it is a result of how we all interact. Employers have gone around hiring men for more money than women, perhaps because those men have been able to trick them into thinking they were better than the competing women - a lot of decision-making is about perception, after all. Many facts of life are only questioned rarely. People complaining about gender inequality will cause some of those facts of life to be questioned and that can trigger the kind of reaction that you outline to correct this type of arbitrage. Bottom line is: The market is not magical. It takes precisely this kind of discussions for participants in the market to become aware of the kind of opportunities that can make markets produce better outcomes.