Since motherhood is not already valued enough in our culture, Salary.com added a "Mom Salary Wizard" to their web site, so that moms can boost their self-esteem even further and get even more positive reinforcement by seeing how much they would be paid if they received a salary. The site will even print out a paycheck for them (presumably to give to their husbands to make them appreciate them more). Thanks to my friend Matt for forwarding this to me. Give it a whirl and let me know what you think.Hm, if moms actually got paid this much money, I might decide to change careers. (just kidding)
In all seriousness, this is ridiculous. As Matt said in his e-mail to me, "This really irritates me. Have you done a blog post about this? I'm sure you must have. It's just so ridiculous. People CHOOSE to have children, so how is this conversation even justified? It's like getting paid to mow your own lawn or pursue a hobby."
Good point, Matt. In fact, I'd like to have a salary calculator too to figure out what all my unpaid contributions to the world are worth. This blog alone must be worth big bucks, right?
Oooh, and I just noticed something interesting on this calculator. If you look closely, under the calculator, there is a little link that says "What about Dads?", so you can click that link and calculate what a dad is worth in salary. Bad news, ladies. Gender inequality in the workplace reigns supreme even in the the domestic sphere. The basic salary range for a Mom without changing any of the defaults is $68,027 - $181,273. The basic range for a Dad is $71,090 - $186,375.
Surely a man invented this calculator.
OMG....such bullshit! As mentioned, motherhood (or parenthood) is a CHOICE, much the same way a hobby is. Nobody pays me for my hours of reading, working out, baking, traveling, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd some of the things they listed that moms do? Puleeze. Chief Executive Officer? Of what? Your house? I could say the same thing, and I don't have children. And look at the rest of the list. Besides "Day Care Center Teacher," most of these items are things EVERYONE (parent or not) has to do:
Housekeeper? If you want a clean house, Check.
Cook? If you want to eat, check.
Computer operator? Uh, yeah. I don't know how moms get the corner on that market. Check.
Facilities Manager? Kind of goes in with housekeeping, I'd assume. Check.
Van Driver? Well, I don't drive a van, but I'd say any automobile counts. Check.
Psychologist? If you have relationships with ANYONE, I'm sure you play this role once in awhile. But that's a reach. Check.
Laundry Machine Operator? So, you don't have kids? But you do want clean clothes? Check.
Janitor? Doesn't this go in with Housekeeper and Facilities Management? Nothing like making yourself even MORE important. Check.
Chief Executive Officer? Now we're REALLY important! Check.
Interior Designer? So only moms decorate their homes? I think not. Check.
Administrative Assistant? Huh? Of what? Check, I guess.
Event Planner. I plan events all of the time (vacations, parties, overnight guest stays, etc.). No reproduction necessary. Check.
Bookkeeper? Do you balance your checkbook? Do you need to be a mom to do that? No? Check.
General Maintenance Worker? Ugh! Back to that shit again? Check!
Groundskeeper? Once again, check!
Nutritionist? Yes, because all moms feed their kids healthy foods. Please. Check.
Staff Nurse - RN? Uh, how many moms have the credentials of RN? Frankly, that's an insult to the profession. Check.
Plumber???? WTF? Childfree people's skinks don't clog? Check.
Logistics Analyst???? You mean you're trying to figure out where the hell your kids are? I often have to figure out where the heck my cat went. Check!!!!!
Wait! Where's MY paycheck for doing all of the stuff I'm inherently supposed to do?
bahaha! The dads deserving more is a riot. Do they deserve more simply by being men?
ReplyDeleteI did the calculator and entered zero children in both fields and it still said I deserve $90,000. 90k for being unemployed and doing the logical thing: managing the household without help.
I agree with you guys. It's just ridiculous and CFVixen, you made an excellent point that most of the responsibilities (everything other than childcare) are things ALL homeowners do. Should we ALL demand a hefty paycheck for taking care of our house, paying the bills and using the internet? Who are we going to demand the paycheck from - ourselves?
ReplyDeleteThe only part that pisses me off is that a dad makes more!
ReplyDeleteI think anyone who cares for children or for that matter the elderly deserves a basic salary. It doesnt have to reflect all the work a mother or father does, nor does it have to reflect the 24/7 week.
ReplyDeleteBut a basic salary for the daytime care of children should be a right not just of those who do the work but also of CHILDREN.
To many parents nowadays just leave kids alone to fend for themselves because they Have to make money and others just because they want MORE money.
I agree with you though about the duty list it is ludicrous. Housework is something everyone does. Only Childcare or Eldercare should be paid for.
A Nanny Agency or A Carers agency would charge 10 euro an hour round the clock, 168 hours a week, so they would charge 1,680 a week. I know because I had to get carers for my mother recently.
But a minimum wage for just 8 to 6 would make sense. And more Dads would care for kids allowing mothers to have careers of their choice too.
Sign the Petition for Salaries and Status for Caregivers
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/salaries-and-status-for-mothers-and-carers