Tom Parr (University of Warwick), "Gender Pay Gaps"

Colloquium Series

"Gender Pay Gaps"

Tom Parr (University of Warwick)

Friday, March 15, 2024
3:30-5:30 PM
Leacock 927

This event is sponsored by the Katharine A. Pearson Chair in Civil Society and Public Policy.

Abstract: In this presentation, I explore some normative issues surrounding gender earnings gaps—that is, the well-documented inequality in hourly and total earnings between men and women. I achieve this by exposing the limitations of some familiar objections to trend, and by identifying a novel class of objections that focuses specifically on parents’ opportunities to avoid specialization into breadwinners or caregivers. I contend that this class of objections stacks up in the light of the empirical evidence, and provides a neglected but robust basis on which to oppose the existing disparity in income between men and women. I conclude with some brief remarks about who’s morally responsible for addressing these injustices, emphasizing the importance of intersectional commitments in this domain.