I thought his answer basically showed he was going to take effort to make equal opportunity.
His comments about flexibility, and his point that companies will need to be flexible if they want the skills women have, is spot on. It’s not that women need flexibility, they WANT flexibility. Hence his comment about one wanting the flexibility for their children. What I’ve personally seen is often, women don’t even apply because they assume the hours are long, of they need to travel and they prioritize their family and business unless they make a concerted effort don’t even see them.
That said, it would have been really simple for him to say, people working the same job, accomplishing the same things, should make the equal pay.
And that becomes the crux, because the 72% number is an aggregate and not a control, job, industry, time in job measure.
Overall, I thought the debate boiled down to
“he’s a liar!”
“no, you’re the liar!”[/quote]
See – this is where you and I differ. And it seems to be common among the different perception of the answer between men and women. I’ve been taking an unofficial poll among coworkers and friends this morning. Most women felt he was condescending… and men just felt he was clueless. I guess if you’re not being condescended to – it’s less of an issue.
(Not sure if you’re male or female NSR.)
I took issue with the idea that flex work hours are ONLY needed by women. And the implication that without flex work hours, women won’t take a job. That’s bogus. In this day and age – where both parents are involved in raising the kids – both parents need flex hours. To assume it’s just for women is condescending.
Men WANT flexibility as well. It’s not just a woman issue – it’s a PARENT issue.
FWIW – my husband has selected jobs that require less travel because of his family commitments. That happened after we had kids. He’s also the one that leaves early to take our son to baseball practice. We both parent, we compare schedules and work commitments, and figure out, on a case by case basis, who’s going to take off work to take the kid to the dentist, or stay home with a sick kid. I think we’re pretty typical. To imply it’s entirely the woman’s responsibility it is an outdated notion. And his answer that flex hours are something that women want (implying it’s not important for men) is also antiquated.
