Time and again during this election cycle, particularly from the left, we have heard the same narrative. “[Women] still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns,” proclaimed President Obama during his 2016 State of the Union address. It has also become a central issue in presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Admittedly, if institutionalized sexism is present in our country we must do everything possible to eliminate it. The problem is that the gender pay gap doesn’t actually exist; it is merely a false narrative designed to appeal to the emotions of American citizens. At the same time, it is diverting attention away from serious issues that the feminist movement should be focused on.
If the gender pay gap doesn’t exist, then where do we get the 77 cents statistic? This gap is calculated by taking the average earnings of all men working full-time and subtracting the average earnings of women working full-time. Yet, this misleading “fact” doesn’t take into account some of the most important differences between these two groups: such as variations in occupations, education and hours worked per week.
As stated by the American Association of University Women, even after controlling for several of these factors “a 7 percent difference in the earnings of male and female college graduates one year after graduation was still unexplained.”
This is merely a continuation of the false narrative. Christina Hoff Sommers, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, states: “It always turns out that [feminist groups] have omitted one or two crucial data points.” For example, women are more likely to take long leaves of absence and simply prefer jobs that offer more flexibility, especially when raising a family. According to Sommers, “most workplace pay gaps narrow to the point of vanishing when one accounts for all of these relevant factors.”
It is at this point some will argue that women don’t freely choose these different occupational paths. Rather, they are held down by prevailing gender stereotypes. For one, I find it appalling that some groups that aim to stand up for women instead suggest that they are not self-determining human beings. Second, if prevailing sexism is truly holding down women, certain feminist groups, such as “gender feminists” and “victim feminists,” are going about solving this problem in the worst way possible. Too often, these groups have attempted to demonize and tear down men. Sometimes to the point of crossing the line into misandry. Wouldn’t it make more sense to empower women to overcome obstacles? Without a doubt, women would achieve much more by bringing themselves up rather than trying to tear others down.
This is not to say that all feminist women are misandrists; in fact this is far from the truth. Yet, misandrists are some of the most outspoken. Some of the “founding mothers” of feminism and feminist theory, such as Valerie Solanas, Susan Brownmiller and Robin Morgan, had a strong hatred for men. The result has been a blurring of the line between gender equality and feminine superiority. Instead, the focus should be on feminists such as Christina Hoff Sommers and famous actress Emma Watson who preach that gender equality is a fight won by men and women working together.
Perhaps the worst part about the gender pay gap narrative is the fact that it diverts attention from the true problems women face today. Every day women in our society suffer from teenage self-esteem problems, unrealistic beauty standards set by media and sexual objectification. These are the problems that feminism should be focused on. Instead, the vociferous misandrists have somehow been able to point the media spotlight on issues designed to turn women against men. Issues, such as the gender pay gap, that simply don’t exist.
It’s disgusting that politicians utilize the story of the gender pay gap to toy with the emotions of Americans. A politician that truly stood for women would be focused on solving the real aforementioned problems. However, many would simply dismiss their claims with the belief that those problems are too large for one man or woman to conquer. Instead, politicians focus on a “problem,” such as wage inequality, that does seem defeatable; a problem that many people would find appalling, if true. Yet, once again, we are faced with the truth that it isn’t true. It is merely meant to pander to and deceive women to get their vote.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong supporter of many feminist issues. The problem is that these serious issues have been put on the backburner in favor of a forgery meant to gain support from women in the next election. I will not sit idle while many women are hurting or suffering from objectification, but I cannot support a movement that is slowly being corrupted and has resorted to turning women against their male counterparts. I thought this was feminism, not misandry. Men are not the problem. Rather, it is the failure of the collective conscious of our culture as a result of a lack of guidance, a lack of respect for others and a lack of truth spewed from the mouths of those who claim they are merely trying to help.
Ben is a freshman majoring in political science. What are your views on the gender pay gap? Do you believe it exists? Please send any comments and concerns to opinion@dailycardinal.com 
