It is almost taboo for a man to question the assertion that the rapidly dwindling pay gap is the result of discrimination, rather than genuine choice.
Perhaps because all the cases of sexual discrimination and harrassment at work going through the courts tells us that discrimination is still widespread. Come back when that's all stopped and we'll talk about choice.
The debate has been consumed by the prejudice it seeks to purge.
Yes dear. Do try to articulate your feelings in a manner understable to others.
While we have some of the toughest anti-discrimination laws in the world, we are blind to some of the most flagrant discrimination ? against men.
Well if you can't get men a fair deal despite men holding over three quarters of seats in the house of commons, making up over 85% of FTSE 100 company directors, and being in charge of the BBC and all major national newspapers, what would you need in the way of power in order to sort everything out perfectly to your satisfaction?
From the cradle to the grave, men are getting a raw deal. Men work longer hours, die earlier, but retire later than women.
The retirement age is, as far as I know, becoming the same for men and women and quite right too. There is some evidence that outdated sexist notions of men being "tougher" than women causes them to delay seeking medical help, possibly contributing to earlier death. Men may work longer hours of paid employment, but women work longer hours once housework and childcare are taken into the equation. The difference is that men receive financial remuneration for their work, while women do this work for free. If it weren't for women's unpaid work, these men would be unable to work long hours and receive the financial rewards of doing so.
Then there is the more subtle sexism. Men caused the banking crisis.
Is this a boast? Or are you saying that it's untrue that far greater numbers of men made the decisions that led to the banking crisis than women? There are far more men than women working in the city, and the higher up the decision making ladder you go, the truer that is. If you want to blame men and women equally for the banking crisis, remind banks to promote according to ability - which would presumably result in roughly 50/50 numbers. It might also help your claim if a woman had ever in the history of the UK Parliament held the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Men earn more because they are more assertive in pay negotiations.
Research has shown that women who negotiate hard for higher pay are thought of less positively by their interviewers. Therefore if women are behaving less assertively, it is because they are judging, rightly, that if they are as "assertive" as their male colleagues they will be judged more harshly for doing so. In other words, they are taking a realistic view of the potential rewards and risks and acting accordingly.
One FT commentator recently complained that: ?High-flying women are programmed to go for high-flying men. Most men aren?t attracted to women who are more successful than they are.? Can you imagine the outrage if such trite generalisations were made about women, or other minorities?
Actually, these kind of generalisations are made all the time about women, and you don't need to look hard to see it. Try re-reading the first sentence of your quote - can you see it yet?
And women aren't a minority, thank you. 51% of the population is the majority and you would do well to remember that next time you are thinking of standing for election.
Feminists are now amongst the most obnoxious bigots.
Sweet of you to say, but I don't think we've reached quite those dizzy heights yet. Do provide some examples of self-declared feminists espousing bigoted views though, I'm all agog. N.B. Finding a woman, who doesn't claim to be a feminist, who says bigoted things about men will not do, sorry.
You can?t have it both ways. Either you believe in equality or you don?t. If you buy into the whole Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus theory of gender difference ? with all its pseudo science - you can?t then complain about inequalities of outcome that flow both ways from those essentially sexist distinctions.
Again, I am on the edge of my seat to see the evidence that feminists believe any of the twaddle written by John Gray or similar pseudo-scientists. Why not scour this very site to see feminists tearing apart the sex-differences supposedly 'discovered' by Simon Baron-Cohen and others.
Or save yourself some time and read Cordelia Fine's Delusions of Gender. It'll be a real education for you.
And do enjoy this.