[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Yet More about sexism and division of labor

[Amanda Geist]

> There is plenty of documented evidence that women in the same
> industries in the same positions even within the same companies have
> more responsibilities but are paid less than their male co-workers. I
> have experienced this phenomenon first-hand...
>
> IMO, the gap stems from some women (NOT all) expecting to be rewarded
> for their hard work without asking and from some men (again, NOT all)
> kicking and screaming for (and getting) raises without doing much
> "work."  In general (not everyone is like this), these behaviors seem
> to be learned at home.

Actually, some of it stems from a no-longer-valid cultural reality: men were
paid more because they were assumed to have wives and families to support.
Women who were working were presumably supporting only themselves, because
wives were generally at home being supported by their
proportionally-higher-paid husbands. The biased pay scales stemmed from and
reinforced the traditional setup. I'm not making a value judgement here,
either--just saying that there was a genuine cultural underpinning to the
bias.

And it's true, too, that some of it is what you are saying, that men's and
women's expectations differ, but I don't think it's learned at home (or
anywhere). Women, *in general,* like to interact via cooperation and
consensus; men, *in general,* function more competitively in a hierarchichal
approach. I think it's hardwired. So men tend to challenge the system for
more compensation (i.e., kick and scream), and women tend to want to feel
there is a consensus that they deserve it (i.e., wait to be rewarded).

--Amanda