While I think wage
>discrimination continues to exist, the peripheral work lives of women is
>pretty solid evidence of a wider, more "social" form of discrimination.
>Women--whether its through coercion, persuasion, seduction, or
>generosity--factor in more "non-labor market" factors into their work
>lives. The rearing of children, care of others, etc. clearly penalizes
>women disproportionately in labor markets. I believe the "ascendancy of
>women" in the workplace masks the fact that the non-market work of women
>has not changed that much and undoubtedly patriarchal forces slow that
change.
When I was an undergrad I took an honors econ seminar entitled something like "Contemporary Issues in Modern Economics." A topic for one week's discussion was wage gap differentials. While we learned that racism *still* was a factor in the labor market we also were informed that there was no need to worry about gender discrimination. The fact that women earned less than men was explained by preference for childbearing: the reproduction of the species rendered as an individual choice. I still marvel at the audacity of it all.
mark
________________________________________________________ NetZero - We believe in a FREE Internet. Shouldn't you? Get your FREE Internet Access and Email at http://www.netzero.net/download.html