The Gender Gap In The Workplace -- The Death One
Mark J. Perry writes at WashEx about a gap in the workplace that doesn't get talked about -- in how many men versus women die on the job.
Men, as sex differences researcher Joyce Benenson points out, evolved to be the risk-takers of the species, and this is reflected in the sort of jobs they take.
Perry notes:
Inspired by Equal Pay Day, I introduced Equal Occupational Fatality Day in 2010 to bring public attention to the huge gender disparity in work-related deaths every year in the United States. Equal Occupational Fatality Day tells us how many years into the future women will be able to continue working before they will experience the same number of occupational fatalities that occurred for men during the previous year.Based on the most recent data on workplace fatalities by gender from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2015 (and assuming that 2016 data will be comparable) the next Equal Occupational Fatality Day can be calculated. As in previous years, the chart above shows the significant gender disparity in workplace fatalities in 2015: 4,492 men died on the job (92.9 percent of the total) compared to only 344 women (7.1 percent of the total). The most recent "gender occupational fatality gap" was again considerable -- more than 13 American men died on the job for every woman who died while working.
Accounting for those significant differences in fatalities by gender, the next Equal Occupational Fatality Day won't occur until almost 12 years from now - on January 21, 2029. That date symbolizes how far into the future American women will be able to continue working before they experience the same loss of life that men experienced in 2016 from work-related deaths. Because women tend to work in safer occupations than men on average, they have the advantage of being able to work for more than a decade longer than men before they experience the same number of male occupational fatalities in a single year.
Guess what: You'll make more working the same hours on an oil rig as you do performing childcare. Which do you think pays more and is more deadly?
Helpful advice from Christina Hoff Sommers:
Want to close wage gap? Step one: Change your major from feminist dance therapy to electrical engineering. #NationalOffendACollegeStudentDay
— Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) November 10, 2015
In good crony-capitalist style, the NBA is doing their bit to help:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nba-commissioner-woman-coach_us_58dbc954e4b0cb23e65d4bdf?
I do my bit by not watching the NBA.
I wonder how far they think they can push this. Last season, the National Feminist League started backing away from Pinktober. Cuz consequences helped them slowly began to notice the Age Of Obama is over.
Lastango at April 3, 2017 11:22 PM
NBA Commish: “There is absolutely no reason why a woman will not ascend to be a head coach in this league.”
There are plenty -- if you look at science.
There are sex differences in human behavior that lead women to not be the competitors that men are. Researcher Joyce Benenson's book I linked to above lays them out in detail.
"Lean In," which is a book written with utter cluelessness of them, is damaging to women.
http://observer.com/2015/05/science-says-lean-in-is-filled-with-flawed-advice-likely-to-hurt-women/
Amy Alkon at April 4, 2017 4:52 AM
But but but Ghost Busters II showed women can do anything!
Bob in Texas at April 4, 2017 5:46 AM
I wonder if the death gap has something to do with the pay gap? forget about the EE degree ladies, go be a roustabout on an oil rig.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 4, 2017 7:12 AM
I've seen women take some terrible risks. Not in the ways that men, especially young men, do. It's not all about risk taking.
People in the "more likely to get crushed" trades tend to be physically robust and have a distaste for confinement. And they not only self-select for their work, but are often selected by the community - their family, their neighbors. It's nothing sinister, just the opposite. They put their trust in him. He learns a work ethic along with the trade.
Possibly dying is an uncomfortable part of the deal. But it doesn't figure into the pay scale. It takes muscle and skill to string high-tension power lines or to take a fishing boat out and back. Those are high value activities.
Canvasback at April 4, 2017 7:47 AM
So men should do most of the dying, but women should make the same amount ...
Yeah, that sounds like feminism -- all about Eeeekwaliteeee, doncha know.
Again, respect women? Uh, uh.
Jay R at April 4, 2017 9:52 AM
Possibly dying is an uncomfortable part of the deal. But it doesn't figure into the pay scale.
Sure it does. If lots of people can and will do a given job, then that job is less valuable and is paid accordingly.
If the job is risky and physically demanding, your labor pool is diminished - either due to risk aversion or lack of physical prowess. And the cost of such labor is more expensive.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 4, 2017 11:04 AM
>If the job is risky and physically
>demanding, your labor pool is diminished
>- either due to risk aversion or lack of
>physical prowess. And the cost of such
>labor is more expensive.
That's generally true for underwater welders and such. But there's so much labor out there that wages haven't gone up in 20 years. The average logger makes about $15/hr. Construction workers make about the same, though they account for 20% of on-the-job fatalities. In the physical trades, your skill set is more valuable than risk taking. In fact, a good skill set will help you avoid risks that get you hurt.
Canvasback at April 4, 2017 12:24 PM
I think we continue to ignore the bravery and super-competence of our CEOs.
Like this guy, f'rinstance.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 4, 2017 1:25 PM
Gog,
That guy is liable to get dragged out into the street, then tarred and feathered. That's risky, risky business, getting paid 7 figures to run a going concern into the ground.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 4, 2017 2:05 PM
Politician unleashes vicious gender and race-based attack on opponents in open session and refuses to apologize.
Probably some sort of conservative white man, I'll bet.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 4, 2017 2:28 PM
No risk-premium? Then why are drivers of hazardous load trucks paid more?
cc at April 4, 2017 2:34 PM
> Then why are drivers of hazardous load trucks paid more?
I apologize. I should have said underwater welders and hazmat drivers. Though again this is a matter of skill set. Driving a hazmat load isn't much more risky for the driver than driving a beer truck. But they have the training and certifications so they can be insured to drive hazmat. They're being paid extra not for the risks they take, but for the risks they avoid.
By pay-per-risk logic the beer truck driver should make more for delivering in sketchy neighborhoods.
C at April 4, 2017 6:45 PM
[NYT:] Number of Women Coaching in College Has Plummeted in Title IX Era
Who'd a thunk.
Jeff Guinn at April 4, 2017 7:17 PM
Leave a comment