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Knoxville listed as No. 3 among Forbes' most unfair cities to be a working woman

By Jeaneane Payne

knoxville

Knoxville seems to continue working in the dark ages where men are still being paid much higher wages than women. Forbes has listed Knoxville as No. 3 in its survey of most unfair cities to be a working woman.

Forbes shows men's annual earnings in Knoxville to be $61,813 while women's are $38,376, creating a gender wage gap of 38%.

Ariane Hegewisch, a study director for the Institute for Women's Policy Research indicated that the pay gap can be attributed to the "good old boy" network along with cultural distinctions. She states "… better off women with highly-compensated partners often tend to work part-time or in lower earning jobs by choice rather than out of necessity."

Tennessee is notorious for employers utilizing the "good old boy" network to ensure men are paid much higher salaries than women. When the Internet started to catch on among businesses sixteen years ago, a female could make equal wages with an Internet business. In many cases, no one knew if the provider was male or female or what their race, physique, or marital status was. This allowed for everyone to have an opportunity to conduct business without being discriminated against. Women began making a lot of money from their Internet business. It has taken a number of years for the "good old boy" network to catch up with this. Now that they have caught up through social media, they are using discrimination tactics against women, and, in some cases, they are telling women who own Internet businesses how much to charge for their work.

The "good old boy" network in Tennessee is not limited to men. It includes female business owners as well.

Another factor causing lowers wages for women in Knoxville is women who work by choice rather than by necessity. They are willing to accept jobs at much lower salaries than men.

The No. 1 city on the Forbes list was Stamford, Connecticut where men earn $118,060 compared to women's earnings of $63,553; a 46% gender wage gap.

Published April 17, 2012

 


     
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