Free Republic

...Comparable worth was intended to eliminate the gap between the earnings of men and women. Feminists argued that only hidden discrimination could explain the relatively lower wages in female-dominated occupations, like librarians, compared to male-dominated jobs, like electricians. Under comparable worth, employers would be required to rate jobs according to abstract notions of intrinsic value based on years of education required for a given job, the level of responsibility it entailed, and working conditions involved. In a free market, however, wages -- like prices -- are set primarily by supply and demand. Diamonds are not intrinsically more valuable than water...