Looking for that problem where none exists

The issue with most modern campaign groups or charities, is that they are not looking to solve a problem, they are looking to get paid a wage from the existance of that problem

If a campaign group achieves it's goals (Eradicate smoking, Reduce speed limits, get free tampons), it looses it wages. Wages are not necessarily money, they could be kudos, signalled virtue or recognition, but most often they are huge wads of taxpayer cash, provided by the Government

 

So the goal of a modern campaign group or charity is not to solve the problem. And it shows

‘Motherhood penalty’ leaves British gender equality worse than Poland and Hungary 

I think the gender equality issue in England (and the USA nd most of Europe) has been solved. Gender discrimination in any form is illegal, and most people don't have a disire to discriminate anyway. We're happy to judge people by the content of their character, not their undewear

So when the problem goes away, what do the campaigners do? They make up problems. Like the one in the headline above

And I can pick a few issues from that headline alone, even before we delve into the article

The 'Motherhood Penalty' they are refering to is the cost of childcare. Apparently it's really high. Traditionally the cost of childcare is something bourne by a mother and a father, so can't be just a motherhood penalty

If it's acceptable, even trendy these days, to whelp a bunch of kids with no functioning fathers, then that's a society penalty, and easily rectified

If among traditional fimilies with two parents (of two genders), it is the norm for the woman to stay at home and look after the kids if childcare is unaffordable, that's also a society penalty, and another choice that can easily be rectified

If British gender equality is now behind Hungary and Poland, maybe Hungary and Poland have just done really, really well in recent years? Which is a benefit, not a problem

Of course, the real issue in the article is not down to any of that

As a result of more women dropping out of the workforce, PwC found the gender pay gap in the UK grew by 2.4 percentage points to 14.4pc.

The problem is this

Childcare is unaffordable for some families

In these cases, the mother stays out of work to raise the child(ren)

This keeps the mother off the career ladder for quite some time

If she does eventually chose to enter the world of work, she will be earning less than her male equivelant, due to lack of experience and training

Hence, gender pay gap increases

At least that's the problem in the eyes of the equality campaigners. In reality, the gender pay gap has been mis-interpreted to the point of being meaningless

It's already the law that a man and a woman with the same skills and experience, doing the same job, should be paid the same wage. If you pay a woman less, simply because she's a woman, you a breaking the law

This is the point a which it's job done for equal pay campaigners, so they have to invent a new problem to keep the gravy train going

The gender pay gap is now applied to all people in work as an average, and does not take into account experience and training. Women accross the board, earn X% less money than men, on average. This is supposed to be a problem

The fact is, anyone that has less experience and training will (should) earn less than someone with more. It's traditional for women to spend longer times out of work, due to having kids, so it works out that they get paid less, on average

Again, this isn't a problem, it's just normal, to be expected

If it's rising childcare cost that are keeping women out of work, then rising childcare costs are the issue that needs to be looked at. Over-regulation, over-inflated wages, etc.

It's got nothing at all to do with gender equality

Parents in the UK contend with much higher childcare costs than other developed nations. British parents typically spend almost a third of their monthly income on childcare, compared to just 1pc for German couples, PwC said.

So look for the differences. Why is German care cheaper? Maybe it has far lower standards? Maybe the UK standards are too high? Ask those questions

Separate research published by the British Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday found that women were nearly twice as likely as men to say childcare responsibilities had hurt their career progression.

Well you can have one, or you can have the other. You can't have both. In adult life, we make choices

Businesses have urged the Chancellor to extend free childcare hours to parents with young children, however, the Treasury is understood to believe this would be too expensive.

Zlatina Loudjeva, partner in PwC’s International Development team, said: “We should consider enhanced parental leave policies and more flexible working so that all parents can balance work and caring responsibilities, alongside tackling the cost of childcare.”

More free stuff. Until we ask the right questions and look at the root causes, we won't change a thing. At least the campaigners won't be out of a job though...