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Gender pay gap: NZ women now effectively working for free until end of year (www.1news.co.nz)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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As of today, New Zealand women are effectively working for free until the end of the year because of the 8.2% gender pay gap.

Based on that gap, the average Kiwi woman is paid 336 days for the equivalent of 366 days for men, according to the Ministry for Women.

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 week ago (34 children)

The way they calculate it is so simplistic...

Pay for males – Pay for females  
___________________________________   x 100
            Pay for males

It doesn't take into account what kind of job the person is doing, where they are working, in which industry, work experience, etc. Just median hourly pay across everything with no nuance.

It's like comparing a newbie and a senior by median pay and claiming they should be paid the same because they are human.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago (7 children)

I feel like the simplistic representation is the right one here.

Women are earning less on average due to a multitude of reasons. Some are an issue, some are not. Who is to decide which reasons should be accounted for in this percentage and which ones shouldn't?

I have seen plenty of statistics where they calculate the percentage down to the immediate difference between men and women in exactly the same positions with exactly the same experience levels. But that removes the very crucial fact that some positions simply aren't equally accessible to women, even if the ones who make it in do get a fair pay compared to their male peers.

It's like comparing a newbie and a senior by median pay and claiming they should be paid the same because they are human.

I'm not going to engage in the typical internet "Oh so you're saying ...!" thing, but damn, read that sentence again and think about why it might not apply to this situation.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago (6 children)

I feel like the simplistic representation is the right one here.

Life isn't simple nor is this issue. Nearly anything can be misrepresented if boiled down a simplistic view. For example "foreigners aren't from here, so they don't belong here" is a simplistic take with a simplistic conclusion which is able to galvanise a good portion of society.

[–] Ledivin 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

For example "foreigners aren't from here, so they don't belong here" is a simplistic take with a simplistic conclusion which is able to galvanise a good portion of society.

This isn't even a strawman, it's like an entire fucking straw city.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Is it really that difficult to understand an example of a bad simplistic take to drive home the fact that simplistic representations aren't good?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

It can be for people who only want to see their opinions reinforced

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