South Korea: Un-equal pay in America

Korea Times Equal Pay Day shows women still shortchanged By Bonnie Erbe This week marked Equal Pay Day. It was so named by the National Committee on Pay Equity in 1996 to mark the date on which women would have had to work (including the entire prior year) to make as much as men made in that last year alone. The Labor Department reports women still make just 77 cents for each dollar earned by men, a figure that hasn't budged since the event began. As is the case with liberals and conservatives and all things female these days, there's a bitter debate over whether the wage gap is real and, if so, what causes it. Funny that Equal Pay Day should arrive while the War Against, Over or For Women continues to roil. The latest skirmish involved CNN commentator Hilary Rosen, who berated GOP hopeful Mitt Romney's constant references to his wife, Ann, as a source of economic advice. Rosen said Ann Romney "never worked a day in her life." The chattering classes and the Twittersphere erupted and the lava hasn't receded yet. No one can blame Mitt Romney for taking advantage of the situation. He's desperately warring for more votes from women, since he's losing the gender gap (when compared with President Barack Obama) by some 20 points. Ann Romney handled the Rosen comment with class and bolstered her likeability and credibility. But that by itself does not mean more women should vote for her husband. Ann Romney is right about one thing: Most women, especially in a stagnant economy, care more about economics and jobs than they do about contraceptives (the issue over which the so-called "war on women" first conflagrated). One of those economic issues women hold so dear is equal pay ― earning as much as the guy in the next cubicle (or truck or factory line) doing the same job. But Mitt Romney isn't exactly the world's foremost supporter of women's economic parity, as displayed by his campaign earlier this month. When Romney was asked by reporters on a conference call whether he supports the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, or if he'd veto it as president, campaign staffers said they'd need to check and get back. Only after Obama criticized this misstep did Romney speak out and announce that he supports equal pay full force. The Ledbetter Act ― the first bill Obama signed into law ― makes it easier for women deprived of equal pay to sue employers. Romney's stance on equal pay is and should be of much greater concern to women voters than Romney's response to Rosen's remark. But the former passed with nary a whisper and the latter drove headlines for a week. Rosen's words were poorly chosen, but her sentiment was right on. Why should women voters, most of whom are in middle- or low-income households, rely on economic advice from a woman who's never had to work outside the home? The vast majority of mothers don't even have a choice as to whether they should work. Parenting advice from Ann Romney? Maybe. Advice on how to battle MS or breast cancer? A resounding yes. But economic advice is another matter. And I sure wouldn't ask her advice on how to make sure I earn the same amount of money as the guy working the same job. Bonnie Erbe is host of PBS' "To the Contrary With Bonnie Erbe" and writes this column for Scripps Howard News Service. Email bonnie.scrippshoward@gmail.com. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/04/137_109381.html