If you were an employer, and told your employees they couldn't discuss pay, would you pay women less than men?

Question

Some posters say that there is no gender pay discrimination, since there are laws against it (like the Pay Equity Act). They say feminists are making a mountain out of a molehill.

But after the Enron and Worldcom scandals, how can you trust businesses to obey the law? If businesses can get away with saving tons of money by paying women less, why wouldn't they?

Answer 1

employers still DO pay men more than they pay women, it's a fact. Years ago it used to be that employers paid the head of a family (the male) more for each time they had a child born in their family, that's how the guys made more. These days the feminists have fought for and have been able to get the wage increased some for women, for one reason because some women are the breadwinners in their family.

However employers usually tell their employees (usually they tell that only to the staff positions, i.e. secretaries, receptionists and others within an office, and usually women because they know if they found out they would be super angry and take it out on each other and cause havoc in the office and outside the office and it would ruin the teamwork of the office). An employer doesn't tell line position people (in degree type jobs) not to discuss pay because they usually get a salary and the commissions each gets is from how hard extra that individual works, so it's called competition against each other so no one can complain to the employer, and those in that kind of position sign a contract that describes their wage, commission, etc).

So people are paid according to what job they do or what career they have. Even the government has a long list of job titles and starting pays to match those.

Answer 2

Those 70 cents to the dollar statistics are womens pay to mens pay overall averaged across all industries. Thats not to say there are not some companies that may pay women less for the exact same job these places are obviously wrong in doing so, but overall the numbers for women's salaries are lower because of the types of jobs they hold, the number of hours they work, taking leaves of absenses etc. You cant fault a company that pays a woman less because she has a 2 years less experience than the man since she left for child birth etc.

Answer 3

You tell someone not to do something...the first thing they do is do whatever you said not to do. I would pay based on what they are worth to my company. Yes there is bias, and I agree with the guy before that women complain less and have less self esteem so we don't get the money at some places. We aren't the squeeky wheel or the one to toot our own horns and get noticed as much as those arogant men are. We are also more likely to take off work for sick kids and miss for kids dr appts, etc... than men. That doesn't help the company much.

Answer 4

i would pay based on the skills and competence that the person has and which would result to her relative contribution to the pay. although, there is a perceived discrimination, as an employer, i wouldn't want to risk losing a good female employee just because she found out that she is not paid properly or offered by another company a higher paying job.

Answer 5

Tell the employer to mind their own business or face industrial action!

Answer 6

How about they wouldn't because its wrong. It is not a molehill and continues because most sufferers don't want to lose their jobs or work in a negative environment to enforce it. I wouldn't consider it even it were legal.

Answer 7

They say dont discuss pay because A: it will either demoralize the other person, or you, B: its very unprofessional, and C: its personal business.

It has nothing to do with gender differences.

Answer 8

A quick check of any staff room would show that nobody ever discusses their salary, and management relies on this.

Answer 9

i would pay, man or woman based on education, on the job experience and performance. but i would not pay a woman less because she was a woman.

Answer 10

i would pay the same