Rantz: Equal Pay Day is based on a purposefully misleading left-wing talking point

March 25 is Equal Pay Day 2025—the day left-wing media, lawmakers, and activists claim is the day that symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. It’s meant to highlight a gender wage gap. The problem? It doesn’t exist the way the left claims.

“As it stands, women earn just 83 cents for every dollar earned by men, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the National Women’s Law Center,” CNBC reported. “Over time, the inequality is magnified. Based on today’s wage gap, a woman just starting out will lose up to $1 million over a 40-year career, according to the Center’s research.”

You’re supposed to think the gender pay gap is due to sexism. But it’s not. It’s very easily explained away.

Equal work deserves equal pay. pic.twitter.com/JjU6Zjh17l

— Rep. Adam Smith (@RepAdamSmith) March 25, 2025

Here’s what the data actually says

When partisans pretend men and women are paid unequally, they’re not comparing apples to apples. They’re comparing a male brain surgeon to a female fast food worker to make their point.

Male and female brain surgeons and male and female fast food workers, with the exact same skill set and experience, are paid the same. It’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender. If it were happening, you’d know about it because in cases where a company does try to discriminate (on the basis of any protected class), they’re sued and publicly shamed.

When you compare apples to oranges, you get the gender wage gap.

Why men generally make more than women—in context

When men make more than women it’s because men generally work more hours than women. Women traditionally take care of kids more than the men, and that leads to less hours worked. Women also have kids, which takes them out of the workforce for several weeks to several months. And women have not traditionally entered high-paying industries like those associated with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

When you take time off work, you are not advancing as quickly as someone who is continuing to work. There are protections for women so that they’re not terminated for not working during the important and necessary time they’re spending with kids. But it obviously does not make sense to promote someone—or pretend they’re advancing their skills—when they’re not actively participating in the workforce.

The gender wage gap closed over 2% since a decade ago because we’re starting to see societal changes unrelated to protections against sexism.

Men are starting to take care of children more than they have, freeing up mothers to pursue careers. With fewer women having kids, they’re spending more time in the workforce. You also see more women getting into STEM programs in college. All of this closes the gender wage gap.

Fathers are spending more time taking care of kids

One study titled “When Do Fathers Care?” explored how married fathers’ involvement in childcare changes based on their wives’ employment status and income.

After reviewing data from thousands of families with children under 13, researchers found that fathers take on more solo childcare when mothers work. This means dads are more likely to care for their kids without mom present, particularly when mothers are putting in more hours at their jobs. Fathers also step up in routine and managerial childcare—tasks like feeding, dressing, and planning—especially as their wives’ share of household income increases.

Recent studies show men are spending more time taking care of kids, as well. And stay-at-home dads have increased nearly 10% since the 1980s. This frees up mothers to work and advance their careers.

Fewer women are having kids

There’s been a marked decline in women having children.

USA Today reported: “The fertility rate in the U.S. fell to the lowest level on record last year, with women in their 20s having fewer babies, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced.” There was steep 3% drop in the fertility rate between 2022-20223

Fewer women having kids means fewer women taking maternity, which helps advance careers.

More women getting into STEM fields

The percentage of women graduating in STEM fields has increased steadily since 2015, with significant gains in physical sciences. Initiatives promoting STEM education for women have helped improve their representation in these fields. This is good news for the gender wage gap.

“Luckily, women have made tremendous strides in STEM education over the past decades,” Forbes reported. “In the U.S., the percentage of women choosing to major in STEM fields has risen notably since 2010, with 45% of STEM students now being women. Measurable gains have also been achieved globally, with the World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Gender Gap Report showing more women entering critical STEM career pathways worldwide.”

However, women still represent only 26% of core STEM graduates, which means it will continue to take a while before the pay gap narrows rapidly.

It’s not sexism

You can argue sexist views several decades ago created an imbalance in the workforce in the type of positions women hold or to explain lack of inclusion in STEM programs in college. But to imply that there’s some contemporary sexism in the workforce keeping women paid less than men, it would be a purposeful mischaracterization.

We have laws against discrimination and we should use them forcefully when necessary. Sexism exists, of course. But pretending Equal Pay Day highlights sexist underpinings of our workforce? That won’t actually address the gender pay gap. You can’t tackle a problem when you misidentify the cause.

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