June 8, 2011

Workplace (in)equality

Marginal Revolution has some striking data comparing the median male and female income, and how each has changed since the late 40’s.  It’s clear from the plots that the median woman, which as MR points out, is not actually a person, but a statistical construct, has done a lot better:

My reaction:


Don't worry, I'm not gonna doooo what you all think I'm gonna doooo, which is, you know, FLIP OUT!  As much as I’d like to attribute this “Great (Male) Stagnation” to women’s empowerment and, you know, those greedy bitches taking our jobs, this data just isn’t strong enough to point to one particular reason as to why this has happened.  As is often the case with economic analysis:
no definitive answers, but the raw patterns are striking
...leaving us all dissatisfied and confused.