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From: gkloker@utai.UUCP (Geoff Loker)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Changing Roles
Message-ID: <641@utai.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 26-Jul-85 09:30:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: utai.641
Posted: Fri Jul 26 09:30:59 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 26-Jul-85 10:42:29 EDT
References: <993@ubc-vision.CDN> <202@ihlpl.UUCP> <282@timeinc.UUCP> <3006@hplabsb.UUCP> <397@kontron.UUCP>
Reply-To: gkloker@utai.UUCP (Geoff Loker)
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
Lines: 45
Summary: 

In article <397@kontron.UUCP> cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) writes:
>PMS doesn't justify discrimination against individuals; but if PMS affects
>a sizeable percentage of women, and thereby impairs job performance, it
>might explain some of the *average* discrepancy in wages between men and 
>women in comparable jobs.

And how do \you/ know that \you've/ got the answer?  Your experience has
been a sample of one -- your wife.  Of the people I know, my wife, my
sisters, friends, co-workers, etc., I have never noticed or heard of any
effects of PMS -- certainly none which have impaired their job performance.

IF PMS affects a sizeable percentage of women, and IF it impaired job
performance, it MIGHT explain some of the *average* discrepancy in wages
between men and women in comparable jobs.  But notice that there are quite
a number of IFs there.  Based on the (not necessarily so) random sample
of women I know, it doesn't appear that it does affect a sizeable percentage
of women.  (By the way, how large is "sizeable"?)  Even if it did, it is
not clear that it would *necessarily* impair job performance -- usually
people are able to surmount bitchy moods, etc., when they \have/ to.  At
work, it's a "have to" situation;  at home or with friends, you tend to
be more free to let your feelings go, and so you \can/ make yourself
difficult to live with there.

>I realize a lot of people out there would rather believe that the discrepancy
>is entirely the result of discrimination; the pursuit of truth can be most
>unpleasant to those who are so damn certain they have it all wrapped up in
>a neat little bundle.

At the same time, there are a lot of people out there who would rather
believe that the discrepancy is entirely the result of women's inherent
incompetence (thanks to factors such as PMS).  It's *so* much easier to rule
someone out of the game at the start than to have to compete with them. As
you say, the pursuit of truth can be most unpleasant to those who are so damn
certain they have it all wrapped up in a neat little bundle.

-- 
Geoff Loker
Department of Computer Science
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON
M5S 1A7

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