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Women's Figures: An Illustrated Guide to the Economic Progress of Women in America

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Much of what we know about the economic status of women is summarized in this excellent monograph by Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Christine Stolba. It covers not only the so-called gender gap between men's and women's incomes, but also educational attainment, occupational choice and political influence. Understanding of the subject is enhanced by colorful charts. - Herbert Stein

Anyone who appreciated Who Stole Feminism?, where Christina Hoff Sommers corrects what passes for feminist statistics will find plenty to love in these 123 pages. Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Christine Stolba explain with tons of data why the "wage gap" and "glass ceiling" are myths based on bad statistics and a less than thorough investigation of the facts. The authors spell out the truth, that we should be celebrating women's progress. Feminists should be bragging that women earn the majority of bachelor's and master's degrees and that women-owned businesses are growing faster than businesses overall instead of inventing discrimination where it clearly doesn't exist, as the stats in this book prove. This book should be required reading in women's studies classes, but unfortunately the half-truths often spread in such classes are the reason this book needed to be written in the first place.

Every year the Dept. of Labor statistic of average wages, male vs female, is touted, falsely, as evidence of wage discrimination. But average pay is a number clouded by the fact that a majority of women still choose jobs with flexibility for attending to family. The average pay statistic makes no attempt at a fair comparison--like job to like job. This book, written by women, does the math and proves that when you compare apples to apples, there is no signifcant gender difference in compensation.

I've been in corporate finance for 35 years, and the real numbers never have supported the nonsesnse reported in the media. No large employer in its right mind would discrimminate in this way. If women were only paid 75% of what men make, there'd be massive lawsuits, and HR manager firings would be in order. Thanks largely to a healthy system of tort laws, during my career corporate management has fought like hell to make sure women are treated fairly. The US is a leader in the industrial world in this effort.

But every year, we'll hear average pay touted as though no progress has been made in the past 40 years. Feminist organizations will rail about the "inequality", and make themselves look foolish..., feeding the popular conception of the math-challenged female.

Don't fall for this. The authors are conservative propagandists who engage in the kind of fake scholarship that the American Enterprise Institute and its ilk specializes in. Remember when you were first learning to write a term paper and the teacher said "don't make the facts fit your argument; your argument has to rest on the facts"? Well the authors were busy running for class president and missed that little lesson. In their world, there is no reason to worry about discrimination laws, or social security, or poverty relief because no-one is ever destitute, excluded or unable to get decent work. Anyone with a passing acquaintance with reality can recognise this for the class warfare that it really is.