Yeah but you cannot jump to the inequality argument. There are many factors that determine pay, such as school, gpa, negotiating ability, connections, experience. To assume 2 people that do the same job should get paid the same is silly, this isnt china. That being said, there is a glass ceiling so it is a possibilty. Though 95% of HR people are female so i think this is negated in most large corps.

I'll probably get shot down for this by ignorant sods but..... women in full time employment are entitled (where given) to 6 months maternity leave at full pay, in the UK. Doesn't that balance out the pay gap somewhat?

Yes, of COURSE it does! Because the potential to become pregnant should obviously mean you get paid less. Seriously, what's wrong with you? What if OP never gets pregnant. Therefore it would never equal out. What if she physically unable to get pregnant? Your argument make no logical sense. Try growing a brain learning some decency and then come back to the conversation.

What's wrong with me??? Did I say at any point that this was my opinion? You hear the phrase gender inequality and you get all riled up without thought. Seriously, don't get your ovaries in a twist.

I think you should just stop talking, you're making it more embarrassing for yourself by trying to justify such disgraceful and outdated sexism here. Just accept that men and women should be paid equal amounts for doing the same job.

and people say we dont need feminism

So...you're all for equal rights, yet crazy people, as my profile explains, are not allowed to have a voice and express ideas. Double friggin' standards I tell thee!!!

I'm going to play devils advocate here despite Tourette's disapproving marks. There's just not enough information here for me to jump on the sexism! sue! bandwagon. Having the same title doesn't mean she has the same experience, seniority, or even produces the same output as her male counterparts. She could be making the same wages she is now if she were male, since I don't know these facts. If her experience is shared by all her female colleagues then I would be more inclined to believe the company policy is egregious.

#91 you have a point i am hoping that is the case for op if not then she needs to have a talk with her boss

This type of thing is too common. My advice for op is to be assertive and ask for a raise, nothing else you can really do. You're boss should be obligated to give it to you.

Also for the maternity leave thing, I don't know Australia's (as in where I live) policy atm but I know what our sexist prime minister wants it to be (I'm not going to explain it) but I was just wondering if fathers get paid paternity leave? I mean shouldn't they?

So if she has less experience / seniority (or education) than her male colleagues then why is she allowed to have the same job title and complete the same work? Sounds like a classic case of gender discrimination. Something needs to be done.

133, Gee maybe because she's also qualified. I started my old job as a cashier at $8/ hour. By the time I left that job two years later I was earning $9.50/ hour. There were other people with the same job and title but lower pay because they had less experience. And if OP got promoted, she'd likely be earning less than those in her same position because it would be a new job to her and those other people have more experience. More experience = more valuable skills = more money. It's called "capitalism," my friend. I'm not saying she's definitely NOT bring discriminated against as a woman, but just because she has the same job and title as her coworkers doesn't necessarily mean she's entitled to the same pay.

But what if I choose not to have a child? I don't get that maternity leave AND I don't get paid equally?

No matter how well-developed or modest your opinion is, TourettesGuyFTW, you will still be subject to distaste if the FML community doesn't agree with you. Not all buried comments suck, so don't always take them personally...

This very thing has been studied a lot, and all the variables gracehi brings up are counted for, and matched (and often with the women having higher/better experience than men) women still get paid less simply for having a ******. Another thing looked into was female to male transsexuals and the men said after they had the hormones and the surgeries, they were treated with more respect and their paychecks were bigger within the same exact job.

Not to mention, for the maternity leave thing I don't know about you guys, but here the father and mother each get 1 year paid paternity/maternity leave. Sometimes the father transfers it to the mother so she has two years, but that's up to him. Seems pretty fair to me, I don't see why the woman should get paid less just because she had a baby.

126, I am in the USA. I am a new dad and I got 3 paid days off from my company. Legally, they did not have to grant me any paid time off.

160, While I won't argue that gender discrimination in pay does happen, just because a female gets paid less than her male coworker of the same position doesn't automatically mean that it can only be because of gender discrimination. OP should definitely look into this and speak with her boss if she's unsatisfied with her pay, but she shouldn't jump to that conclusion if that's what she's doing.

No worries Booda. I wont stop trying to help educate the masses who need educating on life.....or corporate "ethics" as is the case here. It comes with being a teacher. The ironic thing is, I work in a majority female environment. Also, I used to work at a large multinational where I actually questioned the gender pay gap. I was told by both male and female bosses that corporations pay less to women as it's more of a financial risk, that they may fall pregnant and leave temporarily or permanently. And so, they don't invest as much in the salary.

That's sexism in America people! Even thought there are more females on the world and most of us are smarter, and do better in school (fact). We go to school and get an education and in the end get treated unfairly. Thank you society!

Um, holy shit that's a lot of time. Usually it's like three months paid(None for the father). The rest is just PTO.

1 yr of maternity leave is absurd

168, if you're in the US and your employer has 50 or more employees, they ARE legally required to give you up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for a newborn--whether you're male or female. Some states offer even greater protection-- but I'm not aware of any that requires them to pay you during the leave.

TourettesGuy, just stop talking. Although it may be true that some buried comments are actually insightful or correct, the rest have been buried for a reason. And that, my friend, is because the commentor sounds like a moron.

Here in the United States men get maternity leave as well. At least in PA. . .

Could there be a difference in years of experience?

Sometimes the commentator is a moron, sometimes the voter is a moron, sometimes it's both. In this case, it's the voters.

One word: bandwagon. Another word: ignorant. Now bury me in negativity. I'm like the electron in a Hydrogen atom - alone. So, so lonely :(

Who said her boss is male?

87, who's to say that her boss wouldn't do anything about it if it was brought to his/her attention.

And probably get fired? What a great way to go about things!

You seem to know what sarcasm is, #85. ;-)

He just used sarcasm. Obvious as hell, but still sarcasm.

Stop doing his job? Medical field is something you definitely don't want an idiot doing. If he/she has no idea what they're doing. You aren't helping them or the patients and doctors by doing their job.

See, Ive tried reporting him before. Nothing comes of it! And I cant leave my already 12 1/2 hours long shift until he is done with his work also. Im stuck between a rock and a hard place.

oh how i understand that though in a much less important job. i did the work of a manager for a year and a half but still languished on minimum wage. they then decider to give someone who helped every so often doing a tiny part of my job a wage supplement.

#6 I understand that you can't leave until his work is done however if you're doing his work all they see is that's it's getting done maybe by stopping they will understand that he has no idea what he's actually doing and finally fire him you aren't doing him or your self any favors by doing his work, and speaking from someone with a lot of health issues thank you for being such a caring nurse we need more like you.

I say don't do his charting. Let him fail.

Nurses here in Canada all belong to union. If you are both at the same pay grade at the same stepping (seniority) then you would be paid the same. If you have been there for a few years chances are you are at a higher stepping unless your position doesn't have a range. New employees will certainly requires training and supervision. I won't be surprised if your colleagues had to help you out a bit when you first started.

It's the medical field. Chances are that his work being unfinished would hurt patients more than him.

Well, today I told my boss that my charity for this guy is over. As long as those patients are not in harms way, I will not help him even staple a paper ever again. I also told her I think I deserve a raise... She agreed!!! It might have helped the I showed her a letter I received from another hospital offering me a job, running my own unit, for quite a bit more than I make now. :-) If I didnt love where I am now so much, Id have taken it in a heartbeat.

Death to the west!

Right 73! There would be no wage gap if women were in burqas and back in the kitchen. The western world is so backwards. *sarcasm

mine was also sarcasm.... *sigh*

TourettesGuyFTW, you are really bad at this.

Thanks. Any helpful tips?

A flash mob. That'll work.

must be nice to be an oblivious youngster, the real world is going to eat you.

No need to be a dick. She'll learn when she's older.