Woman face more challenges in Western society than men do

I’d like to address some of the points and statistics Con brought up in his arguments from Round 2. First, regarding child custody in divorce cases – it is true that women receive custody in the majority of cases, but the reasons for this have nothing to do with discrimination against men. Custody decisions should be based on the best interests for the child or children, and that usually involves the parent who is closer and more involved with the children. A 2011 study found that a married father spends an average of 6.5 hours a week doing primary child care activities with his children, compared to on average of 12.9 hours for a married woman. And after a divorce, men are less likely to visit a separated child more than once a week than a woman [1]. This indicates that the increased likelihood of a woman receiving custody is in the children’s best interest. The case for discrimination against men is weakened by the fact that only 4 percent of child custody cases are actually decided by courts. In 51 percent of custody cases, both parents mutually agreed to have the mother be the custodial parent, often without any third party intervention [2]. And regarding child support, mothers who are owed child support outnumber dads almost 9 to 1. Furthermore, fathers who get custody of children are better off financially than mothers who get custody. Custodial fathers who don’t get child support earn an average of $51,791, almost $10,000 more than similar fathers who do. Compare that to custodial mothers who don’t get child support – they only make an average $26,231, over $4,000 less than similar mothers who do. Add to that the facts that custodial mothers are more likely to have two or more children living with them and custodial dads are more likely to receive non-cash support from the other parent, and we can see that it is women, not men, who face more challenges in raising children after divorce [3]. I will concede that there is a possibility of a punitive bias against men in the criminal justice system, but it is an undeniable fact that men commit an overwhelming majority of violent crimes in the US [4]. And while men are more likely to be murdered, women are more likely to be victims of domestic and sexual homicides [5]. Con told a nice story about how he met his wife, but having a conversation in a bar is much different from the type of sexual harassment in the statistics I used. I’m talking about unwanted interactions in public spaces. Con himself admitted that if his wife was not attracted to him his advances might be perceived as sexual harassment, and rightfully so. It is not an unfair “challenge” to have to refrain from making romantic or sexual advances on someone who does not want it. I don’t think the pain of rejection is anything to compare to the fear of being molested or raped, which, as I showed, is something women endure far more often than men. Regarding the pay gap, there is nothing wrong with using national averages in salaries – this is the most objective method to analyze test whether Western women, on the whole, are underpaid. The 2:1 ratio does not hold true in all STEM fields; women are still woefully underrepresented in computer science and engineering [6] Pro says that “A person in a given field is only paid what they are worth, and what the field is worth,” but this is not necessarily true. Research has shown that women frequently undervalue themselves and the work they do, making them less likely to demand higher salaries [6]. This could be a result of the many centuries of pre-feminist societal conditioning that used to place women on a lower level than men. Whatever the reason, the pay gap is not simply a matter of meritocracy, but more likely that men are more confident in demanding more pay. The link that Pro labeled as “CONSAD report” doesn’t link to the actual report but instead links to a blog post from the US Department of Labor that contains this quote: “Decades of research shows a gender gap in pay even after factors like the kind of work performed and qualifications (education and experience) are taken into account. These studies consistently conclude that discrimination is the best explanation of the remaining difference in pay.” I’m not sure why Pro would include a link that refutes his argument, but I will allow him to direct me to the actual quote he used from the CONSAD report – it’s quite possible I missed it. It is true that some working women make the choice to have children, but this isn’t like choosing a piece of clothing to wear. Raising children is a serious and noble effort for which women shouldn’t be financially punished. Yet, as I showed earlier, the US lags behind other countries in compensating women for time missed due to maternity leave and childcare. Raising children (for women) and working longer hours (for men) are both challenges, but only one of those activities results in financial compensation. I don’t think that work is objectively harder than raising children, so this is indeed a financial disadvantage that many working women with children must face. The comparison between Viagra and birth control is a valid one because they both involve reproductive freedom – the male’s ability to have sex and the female’s ability to have (or not have) children. If anything is not comparable it is the social inconvenience of erectile dysfunction versus the life-altering and potentially harmful effects of pregnancy. Yes, ED is a medical disorder, but I don’t think anyone has ever had to quit their job or leave a career because of ED, unlike pregnancy. And while there is religious freedom in the US, imposing one’s religious beliefs on employees can be quite burdensome and discriminatory, especially for female employees needing birth control. The Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision and the rise of restrictive abortion laws have greatly reduced access to contraception for women, as I mentioned earlier. No such legal decisions restrict men’s reproductive freedom. It is true that women receive more funding for health care than men, but this can be mostly attributed to the fact that women are more likely to seek medical attention than men - not because of any discrimination against men. A more serious issue is that women are less like than men to receive health insurance through their own job [7]. I didn’t have time to address all of Con’s points, but perhaps we can use the final round to both wrap up our rebuttals and give closing arguments. SOURCES: [1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com... [2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com... [3] http://fivethirtyeight.com... [4] https://www.researchgate.net... [5] http://www.bjs.gov... [6] http://www.pbs.org... [7] http://kff.org...