In 2009, CONSAD released a report to the Department of Labor titled “An Analysis of the Reasons for the Disparity in Wages Between Men and Women”.

In the first few paragraphs of the report it notes that “the raw wage gap continues to be used in misleading ways to advance public policy agendas without fully explaining the reasons behind the gap” and continues to state “the purpose of this report is to identify the reasons that explain the wage gap in order to more fully inform policymakers and the public.”

Ironically, the only bit of information from this report to gain widespread public exposure, appearing in countless articles and even President Obama’s State of the Union address, is that “raw wage gap”: for every dollar men are paid, women are paid 77.5 cents.

It then goes on to explain that the raw gender wage gap can be substantially accounted for by the choices and actions of the workers themselves, concluding, “it is not possible now, and doubtless will never be possible, to determine reliably whether any portion of the observed gender wage gap […] can confidently be attributed to overt discrimination against women.”

Undaunted by reality, certain corners of the internet have proudly declared “The choices and actions of women do not matter!” and continue to insist that they feel raw gender wage gap is a problem that urgently needs to be addressed.

A concise counterpoint to people who feel that women receiving 43.7% of pay is a flagrant gender disparity that must be equalized is to politely inquire how they feel about 93% of work-related fatalities being men.

For every dollar women are paid, men are paid $1.29.

For every woman who is worked to death, nine men die.

Please note: 9 > 1.29

Also: not dying > 29¢

But while I was looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries I noticed something. Of the 268127180000 hours recorded by BLS in 2013, men worked 57% of them.

For every hour men work, women work 0.75.

For every hour women work, men work 1.33.

Women do 0.75 of the work and yet receive 0.775 of the pay.

Men do 1.33 times more hours, but only receive 1.29 times more pay.

For every dollar-per-hour women are paid, men are paid 96¢.