Unsurprisingly, I see a lot of conversation about the infamous ‘gender pay gap’. A lot of opinions, and strongly held believes, and plenty of information that is not accurate, or at least… not anymore. For the nature and shape of the pay gap has changed. And so out of the outrage, garbled conjecture, and political agendas; must come a new conversation that once again asks, ‘why are women paid less?’ Because the truth is, it’s not ‘women’ who are getting paid less, but rather ‘women with children’. Mothers who are out of work, either full or part time, whose lower income drags the average down - they are a large piece of the conversation, too often missing. No. Women are not paid less than men, and such slogans belong in the museum, not upon the placards of today. Now it’s time to talk about parenthood. To honestly discuss why mothers are paid less than fathers, and ask if this is a result of societal expectations… or women’s own free choices? Do women want to be part time parents? Do men? Who wants to work full time at a job they don’t even like anyway? Do you? We rightly talk about the price of motherhood on women; but what is the price of barely seeing your child at all? What is the price of the late nights at work, or early morning shifts; or the second job, to make ends meet? Also if mothers are to get equal pay, are they willing to share their parental leave with fathers in order to get it? These are better questions. And one’s I don’t see asked. Instead I find the pay gap conversation to be a broken record; that redirects energy from logic and reason, into outrage and anger instead. Yet another stick to hit ‘men’ with, another patriarchal poster child, and sermon preached from the pulpit. It is a gap that is never closed, because it is never truly discussed. So tell me, what’s in the gap? ~ Images by Codioful, Jenna Norman, Bambi Corro, Janko Ferlic, Magic Pattern, Eldar Nazarov, from Unsplash. Sources: The Economist, Motherhood Penalty Denmark Study The Pay Gap Explained, full video #genderpaygap #womensrigts

2023-05-27