Ellen Bravo

Myths and Realities on PAY

Myth: The pay gap between men and women is narrowing on its own.
Reality: Half or more of the narrowing of the gap comes from loss of pay for men, particularly men of color. The gap is biggest at the highest education levels and among those working the longest hours. And the “mommy wage gap” has increased.

Myth: Women earn less because they don’t ask for more.
Reality: Women are sometimes less assertive than men. But they also have fewer raises, smaller bonuses, and less frequent promotions. Most women aren’t in a position to negotiate for higher wages: negotiations are possible only in higher level or union jobs. In most of the jobs women fill, you’re simply told, “This is the pay. Take it or leave it.” In many jobs, asking how much others earn can cost you your job.

Myth: Objective job evaluations determine wages.
Reality: Job evaluation systems are often based on an industry model that overlooks or underrates skills associated with women. A job evaluator once gave female bindery workers zero points for knowing how to sew the binderies because, he said, that’s the kind of sewing all women know how to do.

It’s not a myth: WOMEN EARN LESS THAN MEN BECAUSE EMPLOYERS PAY LESS.

Feminist Solutions: Raise the wage floor. Enforce equal pay laws and give them teeth. Prohibit discrimination based on marital or family status. Create equal pay for jobs of equivalent value by using non-discriminatory job evaluation systems. Raise everyone’s pay – no cutting men’s pay in the name of equity.

Examples from Taking On the Big Boys: The fight for pay equity in Wisconsin, where the Big Boys included politicians, corporate leaders, and women who claimed they’d pulled themselves up by their high heels—so other women could, too. A group of childcare providers in Rhode Island who successfully fought to have their work revalued.

Myths and Realities on WORK-FAMILY ISSUES

Myth: All women in the USA have maternity leave.
Reality: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits employers of 15 or more from firing a woman for being pregnant, but doesn’t require them to hold her job. The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does mandate this, but more than two in five private sector workers aren’t covered because they work for an employer of less than 50 or work less than 25 hours a week. Except in California, FMLA leave is unpaid.

Myth: Most workers can take time to care for sick family members.
Reality: The FMLA doesn’t cover routine illness. Half the workforce – and three-quarters of low-wage workers – have no paid sick days at all. Many who have sick days have to lie if they want to use the time to care for their sick kids.

Myth: The workplace is family-friendly.
Reality: Many companies have no policies; where policies do exist, they’re often on the fringes of a company’s operation or depend on management discretion. And lower wage workers rarely get family benefits like flex-time or childcare supplements.

It’s not a myth: TO ADVANCE, YOU NEED A WIFE AT HOME OR NO LIFE.

Feminist Solutions: Corporate and public policies that provide affordable time to care for loved ones or yourself; access to reliable, quality caregivers; a redesigned workplace that values work quality rather than face time; a reasonable work week with no mandatory overtime; adequate income.

Examples from Taking On the Big Boys: Bringing children to Madison, Wisconsin, to demolish the arguments of the business lobbyists in the successful fight for family leave. A group of women in Utah who brought their kids to the Governor’s office to preserve childcare funding.

Myths and Realities on SEX DISCRIMINATION

Myth: There are few women in high-paying jobs because they opt out to be home with kids.
Reality: There’s been a consistent decline in the effect of children on women’s workforce participation since the 1980s. New mothers’ employment rate fell in recent years, as did women’s rate in general, because of the economic downturn. Women are driven out of good jobs by inflexible work structures and unreasonable time demands.

Myth: Most corporations now have women on their boards and in executive positions.
Reality: Only abracadabra arithmetic says one or a few equals plenty. Females are a mere 2% of Fortune 500 CEOs, 6% of top earners, 14% of board members.

Myth: Business leaders are creating policies to deal with the glass ceiling.
Reality: The Big Boys’ solutions are Watch Your Head (lower expectations so bumping into the glass ceiling won’t hurt so much), Cover their Butt (try to escape litigation or bad press rather than fix things), and Design Some Programs (policies at the fringe of the organization that don’t challenge essential work practices or corporate culture).

It’s not a myth: WOMEN ARE LESS LIKELY TO GET THE GOODS (ASSIGNMENTS, OPPORTUNITIES, LEADS, RESOURCES, TRAINING AND MENTORING).

Feminist Solutions: Conduct an internal audit to root out the Good Old Boys’ Network; take genuine affirmative action; enact public policies including using contracts to leverage change, enforce Title IX, ensure greater power to stockholders, and end discrimination based on marital or family status.

Examples from Taking On the Big Boys: Successfully challenging firefighters who said women didn’t belong, and architects who said women were ok --they just couldn’t find enough qualified ones. A Cleveland group of women construction workers who made the hard hat a unisex item.

Myths and Realities on UNIONIZATION

Myth: Unions only want to take your money.
Reality: Women union members experience a clear advantage: 34 percent higher median weekly earnings; higher rates of pension (73 percent compared to 16 percent for nonunion members); greater access to health insurance, paid sick days and vacations, maternity leave and child care.

Myth: Companies like Wal-Mart can’t unionize and still offer low prices.
Reality: Another big box discount store, Costco, offers low prices while paying a decent wage – 42 percent more than Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club. More than four in five Costco workers are covered by health insurance, compared to less than half at Wal-Mart. Costco has less than one-third the turnover of Sam’s Club and HIGHER profits.

Myth: Union membership is down because unions are no longer relevant.
Reality: Numbers are down because of downsizing and union-busting. Employers illegally fire union supporters in 31 percent of organizing campaigns and spend enormous amounts on antiunion consultants. When unions prevail, employers manage to avoid negotiating a contract nearly half the time.

It’s not a myth: EXISTING LEGAL PROTECTIONS ARE TOO WEAK TO PREVENT UNDEMOCRATIC ANTI-UNION PRACTICES.

Feminist Solutions: Let workers decide without employer interference, remove barriers to a first contract, and strengthen penalties for employers who violate the law. Make changes in union practices and culture to make more of them women-friendly.

Examples from Taking On the Big Boys: Exposing a large “union-free” management firm. 9To5's sister union taking on a major university.

Myths and Realities on TEMP WORK

Myth: Temporary employment brings women variety, flexibility and good pay.
Reality: Temp jobs are often inequitable, paying weekly wages 35 percent lower than regular workers earn. Only 5 percent of temps get health insurance from their employer (compared to two-thirds of regular full-time employees) and just 10 percent get a pension.

Myth: Women choose part-time work to achieve balance.
Reality: Women choose fewer hours, not lower pay – part-timers earn 15 percent less per hour than full-time workers with similar education, skills and experience. Many women reduce their hours because they can’t find or afford adequate child care. Others long for full-time work but can’t find it. The majority of all teachers of college credit courses in the United States are not regular employees.

Myth: We’ve become a free agent nation; employees want the autonomy.
Reality: People like being their own boss but not losing the protection of labor, employment and antidiscrimination laws. Many employers improperly classify workers as independent contractors to save money on workers comp, unemployment taxes, social security and health and vacation benefits.

It’s not a myth: THE GROWTH IN NONSTANDARD WORK REFLECTS AN INTENTIONAL SHIFT IN STAFFING STRATEGY.

Feminist Solutions: Remove the incentive to cheapen the workforce by requiring equal pay for equal work, regardless of employment status, and tightening definitions, enforcement and penalties regarding independent contractors.

Examples from Taking On the Big Boys: Going up against a mayor’s chief of staff and the national association for temp agencies. A dozen Chinese garment workers in Oakland, California who challenged a giant manufacturer.

Myths and Realities on WELFARE

Myth: Welfare reform was needed because of women who refused to work.
Reality: At the time welfare was ended, 70 percent of women on Aid for Dependent Children (AFDC) were employed or looking for a job. According to a study by Northern Illinois University, only 6.3 percent of AFDC recipients had never worked; only 3.4 percent were under 18. Many wound up on welfare because of problems at work that interfered with family care.

Myth: Welfare was a huge drain on taxpayers.
Reality: At its peak, AFDC accounted for only 1 percent of the federal budget. Welfare checks did not approach the poverty level in any state in the U.S., even combined with the value of food stamps.

Myth: Welfare reform has helped families by ending dependency.
Reality: Most welfare “leavers” who are employed are in low-paying jobs. Half or more are still living in poverty, a greater number than before in extreme poverty. More of their children are home alone. Many states have long waiting lists for childcare. To afford housing, families often double and triple up.

It’s not a myth: THE PROBLEM WAS NOT “DEPENDENCY,” BUT THE UNDEPENDABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT AND OTHER SYSTEMS, AND THE FAILURE TO CONSIDER CAREGIVING AS WORK.

Feminist Solutions: Aim to end poverty and support families. Focus on reform of work, creation of family-supporting jobs and improving access to education and training. Value the work of caring for family members. Raise the wage floor. Ensure accountability in agencies receiving federal TANF contracts. End corporate welfare.

Examples from Taking On the Big Boys: Involving women on W-2 in Wisconsin to win less punitive measures. Nine New York women who won the attention of Congress with a cultural performance about living on public assistance.