On this day of feminist bickering about the allegedly persistent and discriminatory gender wage gap, Mark J Perry with the American Enterprise Institute proposes a new “Equal Pay Day for Young, Single Men.”
As Carrie Lukas writes in today’s Wall Street Journal, “There is no Male-Female Gender Wage Gap,” that’s worth mentioning. Studies that account for relevant variables affecting pay, that are not solely based on statistical gender discrepancies, unambiguously show that the wage gap is much narrower than either feminists, or even President Obama, would have you believe. (Charlotte Hays explores this article further, here.)
Perry also cites a recent study that shows young, single women in metropolitan areas out-earning men by up to 21 percent in some cases:
And one recent labor market study actually found statistical evidence of a reverse gender pay gap in favor of women. In America’s largest cities, single, childless women under the age of 30 now earn 8 percent more on average than their male counterparts (see Time Magazine article here). And in some cities like Atlanta, the wage premium in favor of women is as high as 21 percent (see table below).
Inspired by NCPE’s “Equal Pay Day” and in recognition of these new findings that young, single, childless men in America’s largest cities make only 92 cents for every dollar earned by young, single women, I hereby propose the creation of a new “Equal Pay Day for Young, Single Men.” Based on some of the city-specific wage premiums in favor of young, single childless women, the table above shows the “Equal Pay Day for Young Single Men” in selected U.S. cities.
Politicians, pundits, and women’s groups who continue to paint women as a victimized class in need of special treatment by government and society risk becoming irrelevant sooner than later as more and more young women not only earn more money than young men, but they also earn more higher education degrees.