
If Women Were More Like Men: Why Females Earn Less - makimaki
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1847194,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
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mkn
The difference in pay between FTMs and MTFs was 1.5% in this study, and the
article seems to suggest that this explains the 29% difference in pay between
biological men and women. That's just staggeringly disingenuous. If anything,
it means that discrimination is responsible for 5% of the pay difference
between men and women, and the rest is due to pregnancy, child-rearing
choices, intermittent employment, and so on. Note that this is not what I'm
arguing. I'm just saying that the data in question better support that
conclusion than the one the article mentions.

Further, fta:

 _Also, it's harder for MTFs to pass than FTMs: men who become women still
have large hands and bigger frames._

If ever there was a case of absolute symmetry, it's this one. Unless, of
course, women who become men don't have small hands and small frames! This
article is mind-bogglingly vapid.

I know. Someone was wrong on the internet. I should just relax.

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zasz
RTFA. The difference in pay was much greater than 1.5%. Men who became women
took a 32% pay cut, while women who became men got a 1.5% pay raise. Assuming
two trangsender people were earning the exact same amount beforehand, then the
new women were earning only two-thirds the pay of the new men. That would
explain the difference in pay between biological men and women.

I agree though that the study probably doesn't explain everything. I imagine
transgender people look a little funny, and people who look funny won't get
paid as much.

~~~
mkn
Looks like I missed a sentence from the article. However, the difference for
FTMs was only 1.5%. I'd have to presume that there was a job change involved
for all these people, as anyone who received a 32% pay cut in the same job for
going MTF would certainly have a winnable case for discrimination.

Aside: "RTFA?" Seriously? I mean, despite the clear evidence that I'd at least
(mis)read the article from my post? I thought I needed to relax because
someone was wrong on the internet.

