Who are really wealthier, men or women?

Once again the EU has published a report telling us that women earn less than men.

As usual this is used by the media and women’s groups to perpetuate the myth that women are oppressed in our society.

Groups like the National Women’s Council claim that this statistic shows that women live in poverty compared to men. In reality what it shows is that, despite all the nonsense talked about equality, men still carry the major responsibility for providing for their families. Most people live in family units, married or otherwise, but, while women may occasionally choose to be the breadwinner, in the main that burden falls on men. This frees women to choose either to stay at home or take up part-time, low paid, self-fulfilling work. A reluctance to accept the responsibility of being the main breadwinner is the main reason for the disparity in earnings, not discrimination. A more reliable indicator of the comparative wealth of men and women is spending power. In the US a study has shown that the amount of money spent on women-only products is seven times greater than that spent on men-only products. So which group is wealthier — the one that earns more (men) or the one that spends more (women)? To say that women are poorer because they earn less is like claiming that the slave is wealthier than the slave master.