In Hadley Heath Manning s guest commentary she writes that for some women, being able to work from home provides greater benefit than earning a higher salary. (Thinkstock)
Re: On Equal Pay Day, choosing job flexibility over closing the wage gap, April 12 guest commentary.
Hadley Heath Manning of the Independent Women s Forum (IWF) brags that she doesn t need to be paid fairly for her work. Most of us don t have that luxury. We would rather have the money to support our families and pay the rent. Clearly the so-called Equal Pay Act of 1963 has not removed the disparity between the salaries of men and women, since women with the same qualifications, experience and talent earn 79 percent of a man s salary for the same job. It is time to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Incidentally, the IWF was identified in a New York Times editorial as a right-wing public policy group that provides … support for extreme positions that are in fact dangerous to women. Funding for the IWF comes largely from sources with ties to the Koch brothers. Ms. Manning and the Koch brothers don t speak for working women.
Joan Gosink, Golden
This letter was published in the April 15 edition.I found Hadley Heath Manning s opinion piece to be offensive. The wage gap has not resulted from choices women make, it results from gender discrimination that has existed for centuries. Obviously this woman has never had to march and burn her bra to be heard. Nor has she expressed any gratitude to those of us in the generation who did those things and from which she has benefited. She takes for granted her right to have a high-paying job, while equal pay is still denied to many women — and not because they choose work flexibility.
Gender discrimination and race are the bases for pay inequality, and always have been. Let s not play blame-the-victim with this issue.
Carol L. Foster, Highlands Ranch
This letter was published in the April 15 edition.
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