Next, the gender gap that was narrowing is widening again fast; women lose more in public sector jobs, childcare, tax credits, benefits and homecare for the elderly as if their incomes and independence had been targeted deliberately.
How can that actually be, given that we do not include benefits or tax credits in our calculations of the gender pay gap?
In fact it gets worse than this. I once calculated that at average wages the payment of child benefit to the mother for one child actually closes the gender pay gap entirely.
And I\’m afraid that you\’re really not allowed to switch between definitions of said gender gap like that. It\’s either market incomes or it\’s post tax and post benefit both times, not one once and t\’other another.
Facts, schmacts, everyone KNOWS there’s a gender gap, and its all men’s fault.
/sarc
It amuses me that it is entirely possible that within 10 years the gender gap will have disappeared entirely, and that particularly at younger ages be replaced by a gap in favour of women. I shall watch with pleasure the intellectual contortions of Polly & co as they try to justify all the ‘wimmins’ special treatment when they are demonstrably not suffering any disadvantage at all, in fact quite the opposite.
Jim,
But they’re not suffering any disadvantage now!
The only way to find a gap is to ignore the choices mothers make to put their career second and to assume that part-time workers earn less money because they are (on average) not men.
If a gap opens in favour of women, Polly and her ilk will just ignore more and assume more until they feel mistreated again.