Women Make Different Work Choices Than Men: My Comment To Wall Street Journal Wage Gap Myth Commentary

My comment to The Wall Street Journal Opinion Commentary, "The ‘Wage Gap’ Myth That Won’t Die: You have to ignore many variables to think women are paid less than men. California is happy to try." by Sarah Ketterer:

For years, federal and state laws have prohibited gender wage discrimination within a company. These wage laws are enforceable by the government and private lawsuits. Despite claims that a substantial number of women in the workforce are paid about 20 percent less than men, there are few, if any, private or government wage discrimination legal actions and most find the company did not discriminate. Why aren't women suing in huge numbers and why do the few who sue lose, if the discrimination is real?

Within most companies, there is no gender wage discrimination. The statistic only appears when one compares wages across different companies and industries. The gap statistic cited excludes the value of benefits, workers' experience and work environments. Companies are different. Higher paid work with higher work injury rates, frequent unscheduled overtime, overnight travel, fewer days off and lower benefit value attract fewer women than men.

Women choose work differently than men.