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Former IWF President Nancy Pfotenhauer has said, “Women often make different choices than men. . . . Many women are willing to trade more money for more flexibility. [They] choose jobs that offer greater flexibility so that they can spend more time with their families. . . . This is a choice that women should be able to make.”1 Another conservative, Warren Farrell, makes his living trying to dispute the wage gap. Even worse, he does it in a way that makes it seem like he’s helping women. He wrote a book called Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap—and What Women Can Do About It. Yeah, right. Farrell says that the wage gap exists because of the choices women make—because they stay at home with their kids or because they cut back to part-time, for example. The problem with arguments like the IWF’s and Farrell’s? They’re total bullshit. The government stat reporting that women make only seventy-six cents to a man’s dollar comes from data that looks at women and men who work full-time. It doesn’t include women who took time off or who worked part-time. So there.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that employees can sue when businesses retaliate against them for making sexual harassment claims.

Despite the fact that these folks are clearly talking out of their asses, they’re getting heard. Not only do reputable news sources quote them constantly, but they have pull with government leaders as well.

In fact, in 2004 the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) decided that reporting on women’s wages wasn’t a priority anymore—so they decided to stop. A sneaky move if there ever was one; if the government doesn’t collect data about women’s earnings, then we won’t know how they compare to men’s. So no more wage-gap talk from those annoying feminists. Thankfully, in 2005, the Senate passed an amendment that required the BLS to continue collecting info on women’s pay.2 But it was a close call.

How to fix the wage gap is a whole other story. Discrimination is widespread, so it’s no easy task. One study out of the University of North Carolina says—and this makes sense to me—that having more women in high-ranking positions can narrow the pay gap.3 The study reported that American women earn more if women in their company are in senior-level positions; the idea being that women will help other women out. So climb the ranks, gals! We need you there. If only the way to the top weren’t littered with oh-so-fun hurdles like sex discrimination.

GLASS-CEILING MADNESS

Like the wage gap, the glass ceiling is still alive and kicking. Women aren’t in senior positions in the same numbers as men, and they face more obstacles along the way. The glass ceiling (a term started in the ’80s to describe the “invisible” barriers that stop women from advancing in the workplace) may be even more relevant than in years past, because now, similar to what we’re hearing about the wage gap, people try to argue that it doesn’t exist.

The truth is, it’s still pretty hard for women at work. I’ll spare you the stats (you can get those at the end of the chapter), but let’s just say women in top positions at corporations are few and far between. Especially when it comes to women of color.

But I thought we’ve come a long way, baby?! While there’s no doubt that working life for women is better than it once was, sometimes it seems that not a whole lot has changed.

In the 1960s, the National Organization for Women (NOW) fought for women flight attendants; they were routinely fired for getting pregnant or for being over age thirty-five. The organization also brought attention to help-wanted ads that were separated out by gender. Crazy, right? Antiquated sexism of the past? I wish.

In 2004, Viacom sent out an email about a job opening in the government relations department reading, “We need to hire a junior lobbyist/PAC manager. Attached is a job description. Salary is $85-90K. Must be a male with Republican stripes.”4 In 2005, Virgin Airlines was sued for hiring women based on their looks and age.5 And these are