Gender Pay Gap Myths and Facts

I would suggest that women in Australia and in the rest of the Western world have already attained equality. They have every opportunity afforded to them, and more in some situations (I’ll show you some evidence of that later). However, certain commentators and the powers that be insist that women are still being treated unfairly, even when they’re not, and I know why they do it. The answer is obvious. To divide us. They’ve been doing it for thousands of years. Think the recent Indigenous Voice referendum. It was purely an exercise in division. Divide and conquer. Create or encourage divisions among the subjects to prevent alliances that could challenge the sovereign forces. That is, when the people are fighting each other, they no longer have the power to fight the government. Unfortunately for us plebs, the gender wars can never be won, because the world needs men, and the world needs women. Without one or the other, human civilisation would cease to exist – FACT. Men and women are equally important to society. And to be fair, I love women, at least the women in my life (sure, they can be a pain sometimes, you know what I mean, right?), but my intention in this presentation is not to attack women.

The most recent front in this fabricated war is the so-called Gender Pay Gap. By the end of this presentation, I hope to have convinced you that it is not even a real issue, but as a gesture of goodwill, I’ll play along, I’ll humour you, and offer you one potential solution to this non-issue (even though the solution would be rather questionable).

First of all, let’s take a look at the Australian Bureau of Statistics Gender Pay Gap Guide. Yes, there really is a difference in how much men are paid on average compared to women. But does this tell the full story? Of course not!

“The gender pay gap is not the same as equal pay. Equal pay is where women and men are paid the same for performing the same role or different work of equal or comparable value. In Australia, this has been a legal requirement since 1969!” Okay, so women have been fairly compensated for more than 50 years!

So if it’s not discrimination, why does this pay gap occur? Well, it’s pretty simple really. 1. Fewer women choose the most highly-paid careers. For example, the airline industry has a fairly large gender pay gap. This is because highly-paid engineers and pilots are mostly male, while the cabin and check-in staff are mostly female. Now this doesn’t mean a lady can’t become a pilot, and it doesn’t mean a man can’t become a cabin crew, but we’re just talking averages here. More men study engineering. More ladies become cabin crew. This is not discrimination. These are choices.

And the second major reason the gender pay gap exists: Women take more time off over their careers (on average). This is not a bad thing. I’m not criticising anybody here. But women have a very important role in society… To have children. Now this is not me saying that all women have to have children, of course not, but at least some of them do. Otherwise, as I said earlier, human civilisation would cease to exist – FACT.

Look, if women don’t want to get married, and don’t want to have children, that’s their right. If they want to pursue a career in engineering or whatever and make big bucks just like the men, go for it! There’s nothing stopping you from doing it, well not here in Australia. But you can’t have it all. You can’t work in a lesser paid job, and then complain that your salary is not as good as an engineer or pilot. That’s not discrimination. That’s your choice.

Obviously, I think this is a non-issue. Of course men can be nurses, and of course ladies can be pilots and soldiers. You can do it right now if you want to. This gender pay gap that everyone keeps banging on about, yes, it exists, but it doesn’t exist because of discrimination. It exists because people have the freedom to make choices. And isn’t that a good thing?

ABS: GENDER PAY GAP GUIDE
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/understanding-statistics/guide-labour-statistics/gender-pay-gap-guide

WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY: WHAT IS THE GENDER PAY GAP?
https://www.wgea.gov.au/the-gender-pay-gap

MORE WOMEN BECOMING PILOTS BUT LACK OF SENIORITY PUTS THEM AT THE BACK OF THE QUEUE
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-16/coronavirus-might-delay-gender-equality-among-pilots/13063712

QUEENSLAND POLICE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST 200 POTENTIAL MALE RECRUITS IN FAVOUR OF WOMEN
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/may/12/queensland-police-discriminated-against-200-potential-male-recruits-in-favour-of-women-report-finds

ADF INFANTRY SOLDIER
https://army.adfcareers.gov.au/jobs/infantry-soldier

CITY OF SYDNEY NAMED INCLUSIVE EMPLOYER BY DIVERSITY COUNCIL AUSTRALIA
https://news.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/articles/city-of-sydney-named-inclusive-employer-by-diversity-council-australia

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn