This chart, which was made to run with an article by Hannah Fairfield, compiled by the Times shows that in every profession in almost every industry at every level of income, shows how women consistently make less than men. The chart is interactive over at the NYT site and can be seen here. In the article, Fairfield says that economists cite discrimination as well as “personal choices” among the reasons why women make less than men. “Personal choices,” sounds mystifyingly vague; could it perhaps be code for “taking time off for children?” What about single women and childless women who are still victims of wage discrimination? It seems as though companies see the potential for a pregnancy “liability” in all women and therefore don’t put too much stock in them. But the injustice inexplicably extends to the hands of the public as well.
Interestingly, even female workers who rely on tipped wages, like waitresses and bartenders, seem to make less than men. This can only be due to the fact that diners and drinkers give female service workers less than they give men when they tip, since most restaurants pay only the minimum tip wage for all their workers (this wage is FAR less than the $8 minimum wage: $2.65 an hour for servers, and sometimes $5 and change for bartenders. These hourly wages are intended to cover the employees taxes, but are barely, if ever enough.) As a waitress, I find this extremely alarming, especially because, in my experience, women outnumber men in the service staff of most restaurants. The only explanation I can come up with is there is a certain level of attaboy-ness that goes on with male waiters and bartenders than isn't attained with women. Or perhaps people are more likely to allow themselves to be entertained by and joke around with men, and thus feel as though they've experienced special treatment and tip more. Whatever the reason, it certainly isn't excusable. Relying on tips is a tough way to make a living as it is since there's no way to concretely determine how much you'll have coming in. Knowing that the people who are paying you, whether they mean to or not, are giving you less because you have a vagina is defeating to say the least.
