Jobs compensate employees according to how much they can get away with exploiting their employees.
If dangerous jobs are paid more, what does that have to do with the gender pay gap?
And, let's face it, two of the most dangerous jobs around at the moment are teaching and nursing, both of which are predominately done by women.
Not even in the top 10. 2024 numbers:
Logging – 100.7 per 100,000 workers
Roofing – 57.5
Fishing and hunting – 50.9
Construction trade helpers – 38.5
Air transportation – 35.9
Delivery trucking and commercial trucking – 30.4
Refuse and recycling – 22.6
Iron and steel – 21.3
Mining – 20.1
Agricultural workers – 20.0
It's a very physical job with a lot of powerful machines.
Men do far more dangerous jobs than women
Ultimately, it turns out, men have a combination of typically choosing higher-paid careers and also being more demanding in terms of compensation. At the end of the day I can't hold a gun to women's heads and make them become engineers. If they want to be teachers, then so be it.
But wait! That doesn't mean that there isn't discrimination at play. Because typically jobs that are predominantly women are lower paid. It's complex, because:
1. Typically, there ARE some value/toughness differences in the job. Being a nurse is "easier" than being a doctor. But how much? Are we certain we're dividing the pay equitably?
2. While men have these higher paying jobs more, men aren't more educated. At least, not anymore. What could be the factors leading women to receive education in fields that are less economically viable?
Also, while there is a pay gap, this isn't the only gender gap. Clearly, job distribution across gender is very complicated. For example, men make up 97% of workplace deaths. Why do men choose these jobs more? Is it biological, social, economic, or all three?
I think it can be true that we should make those jobs safer and that it makes sense to pay dangerous jobs more.