[The Bacon Guy]

Quote by: Left There is indeed a high demand for qualified child care workers, for example, and it is still a low paying job. So it's not as simple as you think. I wasn't claiming clients directly discriminate against female tradespeople. I'm saying that male dominated jobs, in general, hold more prestige and thus the higher pay rates have been accepted over time.

Hired childcare isn't essential. Plumbing, electricals etc. are. Hence, the latter can demand more pay because people have no choice.

Quote by: Left As to your other point, you speak as if having children were a casual whim rather than an integral part of life. Your crime analogy may provide an insight into your attitude towards birth and childrearing. It's that dismissive and even contemptuous attitude I was talking about. Parenting hold little value in a capitalistic society.

It's just an example, Left. You don't have to take every part of it literally and assume I consider child bearing to be a crime.

Quote by: Left Whether you like it or not, birth and childrearing are essential to carrying on the species, therefore the instinct is difficult to suppress. Surely you don't suggest it is reasonable that women should give up having children altogether in the interest of a career?

It depends what they want out of life, so it's entirely their choice. However, like I said, with choice comes responsibility.

Quote by: Left You've also conveniently ignored the fact that the male, while equally responsible for the creation of the child, does not lose income as a result. I suspect that if, in fact, birth and childrearing were a male responsibility, your attitude towards whether or not a society should support it might be entirely different.

Ad hominem speculation.

Quote by: Left So if the dismissive attitude people hold towards parenting is because it's something women traditionally do, then the refusal of society to make reasonable allowances for it it is actually a poorly hidden form of gender discrimination.

That's a big if. Other than to try to discredit it, I don't think you have any reason to believe that my stance would be any different were the gender roles reversed.