There Is No War on Women
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The “war on women” may be a popular political tool, but it does not reflect reality. Genevieve Wood of the Heritage Foundation writes that political candidates claiming women are victims “seem oblivious to the dramatic gains women have made.”
What are those gains? Wood explains:
– The majority of degrees — whether one is talking about an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctorate — are earned by women, not men, who received 140 degrees for every 100 degrees earned by men in 2013.
– The claim that women make only 77 cents on every dollar that a man makes ignores experience, education, years spent in the workforce, hours worked and the different jobs that men and women take. When you look at those factors, the wage gap disappears.
– Young, single women today in their 20s living in metropolitan areas earned 8 percent more than similarly situated men in 2008.
– More than half of private wealth in the United States is controlled by women.
– Three million Americans make more than $500,000 annually, and more than 40 percent of those earners are female.
Despite these clear gains, politicians continue to tell women that they are victims of a male-dominated society, pushing for legislation that will only hurt women. For example, the Paycheck Fairness Act, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), would require equal pay for employees of both genders, regardless of performance level. If the bill passes, Wood contends that all workers — both male and female — would stop seeing additional money for raises and performance, because companies would have to save money for the lawsuits that will inevitably follow passage of the bill.
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