President Obama’s latest pen and phone exercise is aimed at satisfying the Democrats demands for a “Paycheck Fairness Act.” Adept at playing politics for election year gains, the left is again touting the false premise[1] that women only make $ 0.77 for every $1.00 a man does, creating an artificial divide where a government “fix” provides more problems rather than free-market solutions that actually work.

Does workplace discrimination exist? Absolutely.  But it’s also been illegal since 1963.[2] Government mandates and arbitrary wage requirements only serve to increase restrictions on the ability of employers and entrepreneurs to reward quality employees with bonuses and higher wages. It limits their ability at the bottom line to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

So why the need for an unnecessary executive order? It’s an election year, and Democrats are struggling with a failed Obamacare launch and public lack of faith in the administration’s ability to keep “promises.” Rather than tackle real problems, the White House has opted to pander to the “war on women” set.

The ever-touted $.77 statistic? It’s based on misleading figures that take the average earnings of women in all positions working full-time and compares that to the average earning of men in all positions working full-time, failing to take into account:

• Levels of experience and position
• Average number of hours worked per week
• Life choices
• Differences in occupation
• Levels of education, including the average salaries for the degrees earned

The top ten most lucrative college majors are overwhelmingly selected by men, while women graduate with degrees in fields that inherently earn lower wages, including education, human resources, social work, and other service based careers. [3] A petroleum engineer is expected to earn, on average, between $80,000 and $120,000 per year, while the average pre-school teacher will take in between $36-$39,000 per year.[4]  Mothers report taking more time off during the week and making more career decisions based on family and life situations, including selecting positions that provide fewer work hours per week.

When those factors are put into consideration, the wage disparity closes to $.95 for women for every $1 earned by a man.[5] Compare that to the White House wage gap, where female staffers earn $.88 for every $1 male staffers do.