Underpaid?

International women's day is a good chance for all the femmos to come out in the media and whinge about women not getting paid as much as men - apparently 17% less on average. But is this really because there is some conspiracy to rip women off or is it because of the choices women make?

You won't find many women doing jobs where you have to get dirty. There aren't a hell of a lot down mines, on off shore oil rigs or ankle-deep in shit fixing your plumbing. Of course anyone who does spend their days in a dark hole, covered in coal dust and breathing in dangerous gases probably deserves to be paid more than someone who works in a shopping mall selling frocks.

Another category of high paying jobs women tend to steer clear of is nerdy jobs. You just don't find many female computer programmers, engineers or actuaries. Complex coding and all those mathematical equations are not just hard to get your head around, they are also really quite boring. I completely understand why most women don't want to shut themselves off in some dimly lit cubicle and do them.

It makes good sense to pick a job which is nice, clean, interesting and not overly taxing on your brain or body. Something where you don't have to work ridiculous hours, live in a horrible location or sacrifice your soul for corporate success. Most women pick these desirable jobs while men commonly do far less appealing jobs in order to rake in their extra 17%.

There are of course shit jobs that don't pay particularly well - such as nursing. Why anyone would ever want to be doing shift work in a depressing hospital, getting paid a crap wage while tending to patients who throw up/assault/die on you is beyond me. It's a profession dominated by wonderful women who've made really crap decisions.

So ladies if you want more money reconsider the job you choose. Alternatively buy less shoes.