Do you believe that it is the government’s obligation to ensure that every woman has access to birth control, the morning after pill, abortions, maternity coverage, equal pay, equal opportunity and everything else that she may require to be on equal standing with a man? If there were a petition going around to end women’s suffrage in the United States, would you sign it?
If you answered yes to that last question, please do us all a favor and Google the term “women’s suffrage.”
The original women’s equality movement had a lot of ground to stand on. Yes, women should have all the rights that men have, but the year is 2014 and I hate to break it to third-wave feminists, but we do have those rights. Go ahead all you woman’s study majors, please school me in how awful we really have it. While you’re ranting on about equal rights and how hard it is to find a job and get equal pay as a woman, remember men and women are different – scientifically different.
According to a Sept. 22, 2011 Live Science article by Natalie Wolchover, some of the genetic differences between men and women range include men having more body hair, deeper voices, flat chests and a more muscular build. Additionally, several recents studies prove that there are differences in the way men’s and women’s brains function and perform. These neurological differences are linked to why men and women have different life goals, desires, habits, and why each gender tends to excel in different fields.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research flaunts the fact that, on average, full-time working women in 2012 made 77 cents to every dollar that a man made. However, the study neglects to tell the audience the real numbers, the ones that truly compare the differences in pay, based on more than just a person’s gender. A study by payscale.com shows that the real difference between wages for men and women. who are “similarly qualified” within the scope of six popular careers, is less than 4 percent. Yes, there is still a slight gap, but not the one you’ve been led to believe exists.
The same study shows how women are more likely than men to selecting careers such as nursing, education, and human resources – all fields that typically do not provide high-ranking salaries, especially compared to male-dominant, high-paying fields, such as software development, construction and computer programming. The biological differences between men and women may explain why the sexes prefer to fall into different salary ranges – not because there is vast inequality of treatment, but rather, an inequality of participation in high and low-paying workforces.
The problem today is that instead of fighting for equality, third-wave feminists seem to be fighting for superiority. This group of women cannot accept the fact that females are genetically different than males, that they pursue different careers and lead different lives. They aren’t satisfied with women being able to vote, run for public office, go to college, work in their desired field, etc. Instead, feminists want women to get the jobs over men, get paid more than men, be accepted into colleges over men and more. That’s not equality, that’s dominance and a complete abuse of affirmative action. It should not be gender that decides things for a person. It should be personal drive, grades, achievement and capability.
There is no doubt that, at times, men get picked over women because of their sex. But there are also times that women are picked over men. Not every job gets the same pay. A teacher does not make the same as an engineer; an engineer does not make the same as a nurse. Are we supposed to close the pay gap and have everyone paid the same? Sure, if you want socialism.
Life isn’t fair, but having women try to dominate does not make it fair either. People should not be hired based on meeting standards the government has laid out because of gender or race. People should be hired based on the quality of work that they perform.
Equality is a good thing, but when women start demanding to be chosen for a job over a man simply because of her gender, she is no longer being treated with equality; she is being acknowledged solely because of her gender, and that is detrimental to women’s long-fought fight for equal treatment.
Samantha Poetter is a senior in political science. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com.
