Melissa Francis, a Fox Business host, tried to justify the gender wage gap by saying that women did better compared to men during the recent recession because they are paid less. She said that this allowed women to hold onto their jobs while men were laid off, according to Media Matters.
Two executive orders were signed by President Barack Obama on April 8, which is Equal Pay Day, that help to tighten the gender pay gap in the country. The President also urged those in the Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. This act was originally blocked by the Republicans in the Senate on April 9. As of right now, women are making 77 cents for every dollar men earn when working full-time jobs.
Francis made an appearance on the Fox News show “America’s Newsroom” on April 9 to debate the push by the President on the gender wage gap. She was debating with Alan Colmes. Francis made her claim about women and the recession during her appearance on the show.
Francis said, “I would also point out that men lost jobs at two and a half times the rate as women in this last recession. I know plenty of families where the man is now out of work and the woman is the one who’s working full time. Probably because she makes a little less, so she was able to keep her job.”
Even though Francis said this, and believes it, the gender wage gap is not the reason why women fared better than men when the recession struck. Economic experts said that men fared worse because the layoffs hit industries with larger groups of males employed. Some of those industries include construction and goods-producing industries.
The third-largest job gain of any industry in the country is that of hotels and restaurants. In this industry, women make up more than half of the entire workforce.
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