Federal Drone or Short Order Cook?
Posted by ywmguest on April 28, 2009
BPW’s Public Policy Director, Rachel Lyons, has been all over DC today supporting a woman’s right to fair wages. Here’s her pay equity rant.
My dad used to say that he wanted me to work for the federal government (like him) or be a short order cook.
I never quite got why he thought being a short order cook was a good career for his baby girl (something about it being a skill that is always in demand because of the ubiquitousness of diners), but I get the government appeal.
In theory, being a fed gets you good wages, benefits and job security. The reality is a little less than it is cracked up to be–federal workers still experience the same gender wage gap we do here in the private sector.
Today the GAO released a report that says the gender pay gap in the federal workforce has dropped from $.28 in 1998 to $.11 in 2007. Big whoop!
I know we are supposed to herald the progress but really…?! Yes, 11 cents is better than the 22 cent gap that exists for the average working woman, but 11 cents is still nowhere close to equal.
Some of the gap can be explained by differences in occupation, education and years of experience, but 7 cents in unexplained.
7 cents!
Discrimination, partially?
Old-fashioned views about caregiving and women’s abilities, possibly?
Why do you think there is a gender wage gap?
I don’t think this is what my dad had in mind.
gansie said
i have a suspicion that even as a short order cook you’d be targeted for pay discrimination
When Jobs Were Listed By Gender « Young Women Misbehavin’ said
[...] demand for fair wages should not be recognized solely on Equal Pay Day, but should be striven for every day until pay discrimination is non existent. But until that day [...]