- The video discusses the issue of gender pay gap in the United States
- President Obama advocated for equal pay for women, but there were inconsistencies in his own White House staff pay
- Different studies have varying numbers for the wage gap, but it is still a significant issue
- Arguments blaming women's choices for the wage gap are debunked
- A study shows that women are offered lower salaries than men for the same job
- Women without marriage and children earn slightly more than men, but this is not a solution
- Paying women less for the same work is wrong, as shown in a monkey experiment
- The video sarcastically suggests using "Lady Bucks," a currency worth 83 cents on the dollar, to highlight the unfairness of the wage gap.

John Oliver explores America's wage gap between men and women and proposes a possible solution. 
Note: Solution proposed is 100% sarcastic.

-♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ Women, what do they want?

It's a question that's plagued no less an authority than movie star and noted humanitarian Mel Gibson.

Not to be confused with his far less successful follow-up, -"Why are Jews?" -...

But for most American women, 1 thing they might want is to be paid the same as men, and 1 prominent Man currently agrees.

It's become really a theme, 1 of the themes of your time here.

It's certainly an improvement over previous presidential themes, including let's lock up all the Japanese and destroy the Seminole scourge.

Unfortunately, as is so often the case for this president, his laudable goal was muddled right from the outset.

Today, the average full-time working woman earns just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns.

Yeah, it shouldn't be that complicated, and as long as he hasn't overlooked something which complicates this significantly, everything should still be on track.

In 2013, female staffers in the Obama White House were paid less than 88 cents for every dollar paid to male staffers.

Maybe that just means the president was 88% sincere when he talked about equal pay.

Which, if you round it up, is basically 100% anyway.

And with that, all anyone could focus on was not how to fix this problem, but how to quantify it.

The Labor Department itself, the president's own Labor Department says it's 81 cents.

Another federal study, for example, says the disparity is more like 88 cents for every dollar.

The studies do show that when you do the controlling, there's about a 9 percent gap.

The wage gap is really somewhere between 5 and 7 cents.

Women who do not get married have virtually no wage gap.

They earn 96 cents for every dollar a man makes.

Look, look, even if 96 cents is the number, which it isn't, it's still terrible.

Let me put this in terms that are perhaps easy to understand.

If someone takes a dump on my desk, the size of the dump is not the issue.

I'm not gonna say, well, how big of a dump is it?

Well, that's almost like you didn't take a dump on my desk at all." -♪ ♪ -♪

The 1 Equal Pay Act in Congress has already been killed, and there is seemingly nothing on the horizon.

But to listen to some, that's not a problem.

Because not only does the gap barely exist, if it does, it's actually women's fault.

Women make different choices about what kinds of jobs they seek.

They make different choices in reaction to marriage and childbirth.

When those things, those factors are taken into consideration, studies have indicated that the pay gap all but evaporates.

Women are paid less because they choose to have children, although to be fair, they didn't technically choose to be the sole gender biologically capable of pregnancy, with the notable exception, of course, of seahorses and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jr.

The second popular argument for why the wage gap is women's fault is that they choose to enter lower paying professions.

When you compare men and women in the same positions with the same experience, the same education, there is no pay gap.

You need to look at, yes, what the position is and you need to compare apples to apples, not pick and choose.

Okay, well, in which case, I actually have a question for you.

A recent study out of Yale University that is interesting where professors were given the identical resume.

1 had the name John on the top, and 1 had the name Jennifer on top.

And the, male candidate was rated more favorably.

And they were offered on average $4,000 more than the female candidate.

Okay, okay, so it seems we either address the root of this problem and fight entrenched sexism in our society, or all women simply change their names to John.

Sure, it'll be confusing for a while, but you'll have $4,000 extra a year just to take the edge off the confusion.

Because apparently, if women can just hang in there, there is hope.

If you're unmarried and childless between the ages of 35 and 43, the statistics show you make $1.08 on average to every male dollar.

If you can just remain single, not accidentally have children, and never turn 44, you're gonna be golden!

Paying people less for the same work is clearly wrong.

Scientists actually ran a test where 2 monkeys performed exactly the same task.

1 was paid with a grape, and the other with just a cucumber.

Watch how the monkey who got the cucumber...

Reacted when it realized it was underpaid.

-♪ ♪ -♪ Hey, hey, calm down, monkey!

You don't know what the other monkey's experience and education were.

You've just made different choices in your life.

Besides, a cucumber is virtually the same as a grape.

Now, some people are always going to want to pay women less, even if it is, let's say, 83 cents on the dollar.

But if we're not going to get legislation, it should at least be obvious who is choosing to do that.

So to that end, we would like to suggest this.

Are you a middle-aged man running a financial firm or a multinational conglomerate?

Do you find that pushy female employees have been nagging you with unreasonable demands for equal pay?

What if I told you about a revolutionary new product that lets you pay women just as much as men without sacrificing the sheer convenience of paying them less?

Introducing Lady Bucks, dollars for female employees that are worth just 83 cents on the dollar.

Lady Bucks is the new currency for women from the Federal Reserve and the creators of Playtex Gentle Glide 360.

Available in a variety of colors and scents, Lady Bucks feature America's most celebrated female presidents, like Gina Davis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Battlestar Galactica's Laura Roslin, who only became president after almost all of mankind was destroyed.

It's an amount that could be described as virtually the same.

Really just reflective of the different choices women make.

Show the women in your workplace that they're truly 0.83 in a million.

Consult your lawyer before using Lady Bucks.

Use of Lady Bucks may result in class action lawsuits, adverse publicity, failing to retain staff, or being kicked in the dick.


Speaker 0: -♪ ♪ -♪ ♪ Women, what do they want? It's a question that's plagued no less an authority than movie star and noted humanitarian Mel Gibson. Not to be confused with his far less successful follow-up, -"Why are Jews?" -... But, for most... For most...

But for most American women, 1 thing they might want is to be paid the same as men, and 1 prominent Man currently agrees.

Speaker 1: Women deserve equal pay for equal work. -$1.5

Speaker 2: million. -$1.5 million.

Speaker 3: Equal pay kicked off your presidency. It's become really a theme, 1 of the themes of your time here.

Speaker 0: Well, that's nice. Equal pay is not such a bad theme. It's certainly an improvement over previous presidential themes, including let's lock up all the Japanese and destroy the Seminole scourge. Unfortunately, as is so often the case for this president, his laudable goal was muddled right from the outset.

Speaker 1: Today, the average full-time working woman earns just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. Equal pay for equal work. It's not that complicated.

Speaker 0: Yeah, it shouldn't be that complicated, and as long as he hasn't overlooked something which complicates this significantly, everything should still be on track.

Speaker 3: In 2013, female staffers in the Obama White House were paid less than 88 cents for every dollar paid to male staffers.

Speaker 0: Well, that's okay, that's okay. Maybe that just means the president was 88% sincere when he talked about equal pay. Which, if you round it up, is basically 100% anyway. So why is everyone complaining? And with that, all anyone could focus on was not how to fix this problem, but how to quantify it.

Speaker 2: The Labor Department itself, the president's own Labor Department says it's 81 cents.

Speaker 1: Another federal study, for example, says the disparity is more like 88 cents for every dollar.

Speaker 4: The studies do show that when you do the controlling, there's about a 9 percent gap.

Speaker 1: The wage gap is really somewhere between 5 and 7 cents.

Speaker 5: Women who do not get married have virtually no wage gap. They earn 96 cents for every dollar a man makes.

Speaker 0: Look, look, even if 96 cents is the number, which it isn't, it's still terrible. Let me put this in terms that are perhaps easy to understand. If someone takes a dump on my desk, the size of the dump is not the issue. I'm not gonna say, well, how big of a dump is it? 8 inches?

10 inches? Oh, just 3 inches? Well, that's almost like you didn't take a dump on my desk at all." -♪ ♪ -♪

Speaker 2: Woo! ♪ And this... -♪ Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! ♪ And so, this

Speaker 0: is where we are right now. The 1 Equal Pay Act in Congress has already been killed, and there is seemingly nothing on the horizon. But to listen to some, that's not a problem. Because not only does the gap barely exist, if it does, it's actually women's fault.

Speaker 6: Women make different choices about what kinds of jobs they seek. They make different choices in reaction to marriage and childbirth. When those things, those factors are taken into consideration, studies have indicated that the pay gap all but evaporates.

Speaker 0: Classic. Women are paid less because they choose to have children, although to be fair, they didn't technically choose to be the sole gender biologically capable of pregnancy, with the notable exception, of course, of seahorses and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jr. So, that just lets be balanced here. The second popular argument for why the wage gap is women's fault is that they choose to enter lower paying professions.

Speaker 7: When you compare men and women in the same positions with the same experience, the same education, there is no pay gap. You need to look at, yes, what the position is and you need to compare apples to apples, not pick and choose.

Speaker 0: Okay, apples to apples. Okay, well, in which case, I actually have a question for you. How do you like these apples?

Speaker 8: A recent study out of Yale University that is interesting where professors were given the identical resume. 1 had the name John on the top, and 1 had the name Jennifer on top. And the, male candidate was rated more favorably.

Speaker 5: Really?

Speaker 8: And they were offered on average $4,000 more than the female candidate.

Speaker 0: Okay, okay, so it seems we either address the root of this problem and fight entrenched sexism in our society, or all women simply change their names to John. Sure, it'll be confusing for a while, but you'll have $4,000 extra a year just to take the edge off the confusion. And also, don't despair just yet. Because apparently, if women can just hang in there, there is hope.

Speaker 9: If you're unmarried and childless between the ages of 35 and 43, the statistics show you make $1.08 on average to every male dollar.

Speaker 0: So there you have it, ladies. If you can just remain single, not accidentally have children, and never turn 44, you're gonna be golden! -$1.08. -$1.08. Look, here's the thing.

-$1.08. -$1.08. Paying people less for the same work is clearly wrong. Even monkeys know that. Scientists actually ran a test where 2 monkeys performed exactly the same task.

1 was paid with a grape, and the other with just a cucumber. Watch how the monkey who got the cucumber... Reacted when it realized it was underpaid. -♪ ♪ -♪ Hey, hey, calm down, monkey! You don't know what the other monkey's experience and education were.

You've just made different choices in your life. Besides, a cucumber is virtually the same as a grape. Now, some people are always going to want to pay women less, even if it is, let's say, 83 cents on the dollar. But if we're not going to get legislation, it should at least be obvious who is choosing to do that. So to that end, we would like to suggest this.

Speaker 4: Are you a middle-aged man running a financial firm or a multinational conglomerate? Do you find that pushy female employees have been nagging you with unreasonable demands for equal pay? What if I told you about a revolutionary new product that lets you pay women just as much as men without sacrificing the sheer convenience of paying them less? Introducing Lady Bucks, dollars for female employees that are worth just 83 cents on the dollar. Lady Bucks is the new currency for women from the Federal Reserve and the creators of Playtex Gentle Glide 360.

Available in a variety of colors and scents, Lady Bucks feature America's most celebrated female presidents, like Gina Davis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Battlestar Galactica's Laura Roslin, who only became president after almost all of mankind was destroyed. It's an amount that could be described as virtually the same. Really just reflective of the different choices women make. And some f***ed up mad men bulls***. So why not try Lady Bucks?

Show the women in your workplace that they're truly 0.83 in a million. Lady Bucks are not for everyone. Consult your lawyer before using Lady Bucks. Use of Lady Bucks may result in class action lawsuits, adverse publicity, failing to retain staff, or being kicked in the dick. Thank you.

Speaker 2: Thank you.

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Wage Gap: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)