ABSTRACT
It is sometimes said that women earn less than men because a man normally has dependants and a woman has not. Investigation has proved that a large number of women workers have to contribute to the support of relatives, but it may be admitted that, normally, the average man contributes more to the support of others than the average woman. But though this may be a reason for thinking that it is a good thing for men to be paid more than women, it hardly explains why it is actually the case. Unfortunately, wages do not vary with needs ; we do not find that the married man is paid more than the bachelor nor that the man with a delicate wife necessarily earns high wages. The lower earnings of women must be explained on other grounds than that of their smaller monetary responsibilties; these latter, perhaps, are the effect of their smaller earnings rather than being the cause of them.
