In parts I and II of this series, we looked at gender-based pay disparities during and after the working years. Today I want to talk about how the government penalizes the victims of this situation.
Our government’s response to inequality is to compensate, in constantly decreasing amounts, the families at the lowest economic levels. Yet, they never address the compensation lost by all families with working women as members. This suggests that the blame for poverty lies with the economically poor families who are being cheated out of fair compensation. It gives a state endorsement of the system that sets women (especially single-parent families, but all households with female wage-earners) behind from the first years of their working lives, ensuring they can never get ahead.
We have seen some small movements against the worst of the pay-disparity offenders. Usually, though? Solutions are offered in areas with a long-term payoff - such as teaching women and girls better bargaining skills. Which doesn't address the current ever-deepening hole, and it places the burden on the victim in this situation!
What do you think?
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