Another question that I have is how much of what a person learned in 2000 still relevant today?

So a techies SAHM that takes five years off is going to make less money until she gets up to speed.

And then the other question is how many women are going to be a lineperson for the local electric company on the overnight shift?

I think the biggest difference is that women don't ask for more. I make deals for a living, and thus, don't take the first $ figure offered. Men who hire me like the give and take of negotiating (it's sort of like flirting) but most women freak out when I come back with a different amount. Or else they get so intimidated that they just throw up their hands, and go "whatever you say!".

Well, you know the only way to fix this, is to take money and choices away from men, and give them to women... /sarc

Heaven help us if they try to dealve into why many women don't like the same things as men...

Bbbbbbut, you can't LIKE getting old engine grit under your fingernails!
Yeah, wanna help me?

You can have equality of outcome, or equality of opportunity.

Not both.

Only one of those is consistent with freedom.

So a techies SAHM that takes five years off is going to make less money until she gets up to speed.

Back when I worked in banking, I knew a woman who worked in the department in charge of taking care of the legacy systems. There were very few men in her department, most having left for more advancec companies.

She was proud of the fact that so many women worked in technology in her department, but often complained that there was very little room for advancement in the department.

When the bank finally replaced the legacy system, she, along with most of her department, was let go.

Months later, she complained that she couldn't even get interviews because her programming skills were so far out of date.

I wonder what percentage of women in technology job chose the comfortable position with regular hours over the dynamic position with 24/7 demands; and voluntarily obsolesce themselves out of relevance.

An old, but still interesting, perspective on women getting ahead in the workplace:

Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman by Gail Evans (2001)

Wait, what? You mean women across the board earn less than men earn across the board? That is OUTRAGEOUS, even though:
- men work more hours per week, and work the vast majority of overtime.
- men suffer about 95% of workplace fatalities and injuries.
- men do the vast majority of jobs that are unpleasant, dangerous, physically demanding, require travel, etc.
- men work more years during the course of a career than women do, and take less time out.
- In 2/3 of households, men are primarily responsible for being the breadwinner.

Really, Obama should get right on that "paycheck fairness" thing the gubmint is going to impose on us. Who doesn't want fairness, after all?