[comp.society.women] Pay for women

seltzer@ernie.Berkeley.EDU (Linda Seltzer) (07/07/88)

A question was asked previously about pay for women vs. pay
for men.  From what I have seen in various parts of the country
and in more than one company is:  except at entry level, I have
never seen any organization where women earn salaries equal to
those of similarly qualified men.  After the ten-year experience
point, similarly skilled men earn 2-3 times as much as women.
If it's not done explicitly with salaries, it's done with
Christmas bonuses.  Have you ever heard of any women suing
for equal Christmas bonuses?  Companies get away with it all the
time.

The main reason women haven't succeeded in gaining equal pay is
that most women are willing to engage in cutthroat competition
against women rather than organizing with other women to gain
equal pay.  For example, a woman might treat other women horribly
just to "prove" she's not a feminist, so that she will get a
few crumbs more than other women.

The only way to earn as much as men is to go into business for yourself.
The your salary is controlled only by the market and by how many hours
you're willing to work.  Even in consulting, many male managers will
never hire a woman consultant after hearing (in disbelief) what
she charges (even if it's less than what men charge).  But some people
will hire any qualified consultant.  And if you develop your own
product then it's even better.  A product name doesn't have to
be female or male.

Once a woman accepts a job at pay that is too low, it is virtually
impossible to rectify the situation within the same company.  I made
that mistake when I was much younger, but I will not make it
again.  I have decided that if I am going to do any engineering
work for a company, it will have to pay me what it pays men.  I
would rather do some other type of work than accept low pay.

-eugene miya