08 March 2011

Who let the pedant out?

Diabetes in the news: remember this scary government proposal?  Although doctors apparently disagreed, it appeared that the government was proposing "diabetes" for us, which I was reluctant to take advantage of.

I was checking out some of the Recipe Collections on taste.com.au recently, and I noticed that when I clicked on a link, it automatically filled in the search box for me. The diabetes-friendly recipes came up with this spelling in the search box. You only have my word for it that I did not fill the search box in myself this way.I thought that somehow, the spelling "dietbeties" was appropriate, given that the recipes listed were appropriate for people with diabetes.


International Womens Day has been a time of renewed calls for equal pay for women.  I am fortunate not to suffer this glass ceiling in my industry (in fact, I earn more than many men I know, but don't tell them.)  This article was on a news website today:
I was surprised - I'm left wondering which industries pay a worker more if he is male, and less if she is female? I have only worked in government where the pay is the same, and in private practice where I set my fees.  Can anyone tell me about where the pay discrepancy lies?  I'd be genuinely interested to learn more.

The caption below the picture (of women walking to work) does offer us hope though.  Perhaps women don't earn more money than men, but they do get to walk home with 84% of the men they work with, which is a good consolation prize.  They could put their accumulated men to work in the home, doing the floors, washing, lawns, etc.  So that's good at least.

9 comments:

Emily Sue said...

The pay gender inaquality lies largely in the fact that most of the highest paying jobs in Australia are filled by men. Women are over-represented in lower-income occupations, as well as over-represented in areas of study linked to lower earning industries. So while girls are statistically higher achievers at school, and there are usually more women than men at university, this doesn't necessarily translate to more employment opportunities. Eg, only about 2% of CEO positions in Australia are held by women.

Givinya De Elba said...

So ... not really pay inequality then? Employment inequality?

By the way, I do realise that "earning 84% of [my] male counterparts" is quite disappointing, as the sum total of my male counterparts seems to be zero in these parts. Sigh. I will have to round up my own slave labour then.

Emily Sue said...

Well, technically still a pay inequality since men on average earn more than women, but of course the figure is due to inequal employment opportunities. Just like the "average" Australian salary is something like $67K but the majority of the population earns far less than that - the figure is skewed by the really high incomes.

And I forgot to say... the pedant in me adores this post. :)

Emily Sue said...

*unequal

Also, you and I both work part time so we wouldn't get 84% of our male counterparts. We have to take a pro rata amount of men. Just as well; I'm not sure I have the room in my house.

Givinya De Elba said...

One day a week.

16.8% of zero is still, alas, zero.

Must get the kids and the Mister to work!

Tracy P. said...

Don't even get me started on the "what is the actual comparison here?" conversation. I still want to know which test it is that they are giving to each and every (and I mean every single kid!) AmericanJapaneseAussieGermanBritishetc.... child that our American kids are scoring so poorly on.

Are women really wanting those higher paying jobs but not getting them? Or are they taking jobs with less pressure and time demands so they can balance their family lives?

Allegro ma non troppo said...

Yeesh. Statistics, hey? I heard that Florence Nightingale invented the pie graph.

Givinya De Elba said...

Really? Lies, damned lies and Florence Nightingale's Pie Graphs.

Unknown said...

My sister Andi has been telling me about how funny you and YOUR sister are so, since it's spring break and I have a bit of time on my hands, I thought I'd explore blogland a little further than usual! I enjoyed the silliness of your children!