Editorials / Opinion

Seattle Times letters to the editor

Women are at fault

Seattle City Council member Jean Godden’s guest column failed to identify the real and obvious reason for the gender pay gap: women’s choices. [“Closing the gender pay gap,” Opinion, July 23.]

Instead, she disingenuously implied that the city is violating the Equal Pay Act. She wrote, “Too many women struggle to get by on less for the same work.” She knows better.

In fact, when the pay is different, women are obviously not doing “the same work.” Godden correctly point out that men dominate in departments that pay more and in higher executive positions overall.

Is the city illegally discriminating against its women employees when issuing promotions? She knows it’s not true, otherwise their would be lawsuits.

Does the city illegally discriminate in its hiring of police officers, firefighters or city light, high-paying departments? She knows they don’t. In fact, the opposite is true!

Everyone knows that the city bends over backward to hire women. They caved in to the women who demanded to be treated unequally by lowering the minimum physical standards required.

Women are making the choices that benefit themselves. Fewer women than men want those hard, dirty, high-paying jobs. And, most likely, not as many women actually aspire to be supervisors or high-level executives. Unlike many men, whose identities and egos are inordinately tied to advancing in their careers despite the sacrifices required, many women realize that there is much more to life than advancing in a career.

Many women freely choose to take a break from their career to raise their children. Why is that “maddening” to Godden?

Doug Hjellen, Mill Creek