American women earn 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts pull in, and, on average, can expect to make a total of $713,000 less than men over a 40-year career. But while feminist groups insist that the yawning disparity is a result of rampant workplace discrimination, "even a cursory review of the data proves this assumption false," says Carrie Lukas at The Wall Street Journal. Differences in lifestyle choice between the sexes are the real culprit. Simply put, women flock to professions that offer "fewer risks, more comfortable conditions, regular hours, more personal fulfillment and greater flexibility" than their male counterparts — and, consequently, earn far less. Here, an excerpt:
Men have been hit harder by this recession because they tend to work in fields like construction, manufacturing and trucking, which are disproportionately affected by bad economic conditions. Women cluster in more insulated occupations, such as teaching, health care and service industries.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Road trip: New England’s maple syrup seasonFeature New England is serving up maple syrup in delicious and unexpected ways
-
Music Reviews: Mdou Moctar, Panda Bear, and Tate McRaeFeature “Tears of Injustice,” “Sinister Grift,” and “So Close to What”
-
What's at stake in the Mahmoud Khalil deportation fight?Talking Points Vague accusations and First Amendment concerns
