Michael Zeng Eng Comp 101: Take Home Essay 1 Wage Gaps, Discrimination, and Biology In his essay

Gender", Pinker argues that wage differences between men and women is due to biological differences and not due to discrimination. Throughout the essay Pinker attempts in a myriad of ways to persuade readers to agree with his point of view through examples, analysis, and intriguing insights. In the beginning of his essay, Pinker presents a point of view that feminists frequently take on the subject of equal wages; discrimination causes wage disparity among men and women. He quotes Friedan, women still earn no more than 72 cents for every dollar that men earn(1) and presents the leaky pipeline metaphor, which states that although women make up a large amount of a university population, the amount decreases as they advance to the next state in a career path(2). In doing so he is able to inform us on the situation of discrimination and how it affects females, and sets up the point of view as a contrast to his argument that he presents later on in the essay. The purpose of this is to allow the readers to see both side of the argument, and only serves to empower his argument when he seeks to debunk the current analysis of wage differences. In one instance, he brings up the voice of a female social scientist and quotes her in order to lay further groundwork for his assertion. The question of why more women dont choose careers in engineering has a rather obvious answer. Because they dont want to.(3) and tries to convince us on his argument by presenting us with data on how men and women lean toward different pursuits. As he slowly transitions into his argument, Pinker wants us to know that its

not just him who stands alone on the idea that wage differences arent influenced by discrimination, but women experts too. He does this in order to convince us of his credibility regarding an issue that others find sensitive. Before presenting his analysis, he tells us why this analysis gives readers a better understanding than the previous one, along with a few points regarding the nature of discrimination in the workforce and that he does not advocate it. In doing this he lets the reader know that he realizes the presence of discrimination based on gender, to allay the belief that he is against equality for women. Pinker explains to us how the gender gap is usually analyzed, so that it serves to further clarify his argument. If one matches the distributions of traits for men and for women with that of the jobs in the economy, the mean salary of men and of women is very close to zero-even if there were no barriers or discrimination.(4) By presenting logical facts in his analysis he attempts to persuade readers by challenging the notion that wage gaps are caused by prejudice. Throughout the essay, he catalogues differences in traits of men and women with facts, to set up the argument, in a strategy that may serve to solidify his argument that wage disparity is not based on gender discrimination. Pinker tells us how a salary is influenced by traits to lay the foundation for his argument. He tells us that this does not put women at a disadvantage but in fact empowers them when it comes to certain jobs. He does not assert that the traits that men have allow them to gain more money but asserts the opposite. Pinker brings in Helen Fisher as a speculator saying that female strengths will help the future of society and that theyll have more pay due to traits that they tend to have. This reinforces his previous analysis that genders differ in traits required by employment which in term is what constitutes a salary. He reiterates that men gain from this during the modern world, and that some gap is caused by discrimination to assure

us that once again he is aware that discrimination is real. He then uses a contrast to allow us to see the other side, But the evidence suggests that not all sex differences in the professions are caused by these barriers. (5) Pinker presents an example of a study on teens born during the second era of feminism, who were encouraged to achieve, yet both genders still veered towards studies their traits made them inclined for. He also presents the results of surveys as another strategy of persuasion. Pinker describes the inclinations of men and how it causes them to work more, which in term brings in more money.(6) This serves his argument that wage disparity is not caused by discrimination but traits men are naturally inclined towards such as status, power, and money. Likewise, he brings up women too and how they are more attached to their children and brings in our mammal lineage that dates back 200 million years.(7) Women spend more time with them which means less time away from work, which in turn means fewer wage. With this biological fact, he tries to convince readers that the nature of men and women is what causes the gap in wages, and not discrimination. According to Pinker, sex differences shouldnt be seen as a bad thing and can be used to empower the choices that women make. He attempts to persuade us by shining light on a rather murky subject and wants us to realize that there is more to the issue than just what some would consider being the negative aspects of sex differences. By asking questions regarding sex differences such as In reasoning about fairness in the workplace, should we consider people as isolated individuals, or should we consider them as members of families who probably will have children at some point in their lives?(8), he invites us to consider the possibilities of how these questions pertaining to biology/nature could improve the quality of working women.

Pinkers claim that the wage gap between the genders is due to biological traits and not discrimination is supported by a variety of rich examples and logical facts. While he makes it aware that there is discrimination in the workforce, it alone, is not the primary cause of wage gaps. Through his relentless tactics of persuasion, Pinker pushes towards the idea that by observing our biological nature we may came to terms with the uniqueness present in all human beings.(9)

MLA Citation Pinker, Steven Gender The Presence of Others 5th Edition (2008): 624-638 1. Friedan, Betty 625 The Feminine Mystique p. 625 2. p. 626 3. Hausman, Patti p. 627 4. p. 631 5. p 632 6. p. 633-635 7. p. 634-635 8. p. 637 9. p.637-638