Accoding to The Washington Post, women today still "earn 91 cents for every dollar, as compared to men, due to factors that have nothing to do with life choices" (Khimm "Women Earn 91 Cents for Every Dollar Men Earn--If You Control for Life Choices," 2012), which means that the wage gap actually increases when the educational profession is included in the data. In a country where over 85% of primary educators and more than 62% of secondary educators are women, the gender wage gap really matters since "employers in female-dominated industries may be able to get away with paying less than they would otherwise" (Khimm).
The percentage of women in the classroom is much higher than the percentage of women in administration. Under a highly subjective "pay-for-performance" structure pushed by the "reformers," administrators have the ultimate authority to oversee financial increases to salary from year to year. The old-boys' network of promoting the golfing buddy is further exacerbated by the rise of hand-selected administrators put into place by the political machine of the reformers.
Would a male-dominated industry tolerate such subjective shenanigans in pay structures? The public doesn't debate the pay structures of tax-supported professions dominated by men like firefighters, air-traffic contollers, police officers, or postal employees. Why is it acceptable in our communities to denigrate professional, degree-holding educators and to hold their salaries at ransom to the whims of political favoritism?
Are we looking the other way while yet another generation of mothers, sisters, and daughters are victimized by gender politics?
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