The Truth About The Pay Gap

The article,” The Truth About the Pay Gap, Feminist Politics and Bad Economics” by Steve Chapman, states Equal Pay Day is named for something that does not exist. Chapman believes the difference in career paths between men and women may reflect a basic unfairness of what is expected of women, however, he believes current claims of wage inequality are not really true.http://www.reason.com/news/show/119920.html

Topic: Should the Obama administration work to eliminate pay inequality?

Category:Citizen/Journalistic/online magazine

Title: The Truth About the Pay Gap,Feminist Politics and Bad Economics

Publication Information: Reason online is the web component to the monthly print magazine,Reason. Their logo is “free minds and free markets”, claiming their purpose is to aid people in making informed decisions. The online component is driven by donations, subscriptions and advertisements, and is overseen by the Reason Foundation, a  research and education non-profit organization. The online magazine is updated daily, and this particular article was posted April 30,2007.

Author: Steve Chapman, columnist for Chicago tribune

Location:http://www.reason.com/news/show/119920.html

Accessed: March1,2009

Support: Harvard economist ,Claudia Goldin; June O’Neill, economist at Baruch College and former director of Congressional Budget Office;AAUW report on pay gap.

Source Analysis: Reason online is targeted to people who want to hear more than one side of an issue and make their own informed decisions.  The site attracts over 675,000 readers per month. This article offers contrasting positions, is not typically one-sided.

Usefulness: Chapman uncovers a startling admission in the AAUW report that might prove helpful. It states that ” after accounting for all factors known to affect wages, about one-quarter of the gap remains unexplained and MAY be attributed to discrimination.” This seems a major admission to make for an organization claiming injustices. There are also interviews with feminist economists that state men and women who are not married or have kids exhibit no wage gap.

Works Cited: http://www.reason.org/

http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/goldin

http://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/faculty/profiles/oneill.html

http://www.aauw.org/research/behindPayGap.cfm

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