I'm a feminist -- still. I want what I've always wanted for women -- equal pay for equal work.
Yes, true, it is much better than the olden days of my youth, but I was the woman told that "he gets more pay because he has a family to support and has been in this field for years."
"He" did the same thing I did. We were both bookkeepers and phone answerers for two factories in one building. I was the one to do the AP/AR work for one company, he did for the other one. I was the gate-keepr for any incoming calls. He got the calls for that company after I transferred them to him. I was also responsible for making sure all the books were ready for the accountants come tax-paying-March. And I handled calls from salespeople across the country, plus their commissions. He was the sales person for that side of the business. Ultimately, I knew how much everyone was paid, because I handled all the bookkeeping, including payroll. He did not. So, our job was equal.
His "family?" We were both married with no kids at home.
More experience in that field? Yeah, well I had 8 years of work with that company, so exactly that much experience in that field. He had two years working there.
He deserved the money he was paid, so it's not like I think he was less than me. But I deserved the same as him, because I'm not less either.
Ultimately, this was really a case of "women don't need as much." Sure we do. Just as much as men.
I could have sued, but then again, I didn't have the money to waste time in litigation to get something I deserved. The laws are whacked. It really isn't all that illegal to pay men more. Until it is clear a woman deserves, and gets, the same pay as a man for the same job, I am a feminist.
