Keller @ Large: Every Day Should Be Equal Pay Day

BOSTON (CBS) - Anyone who knows anything about women knows the following: as a general rule, women are smarter than men, can multitask better, and have more understanding of human nature.

Add those facts to the core reality that with few exceptions, there is nothing a man can do in the workplace that a woman can't do as well or better, and the very idea of gender-based pay inequity is ridiculous on its face.

Nonetheless, women too often receive less pay than men for comparable work. Groups working to rectify this injustice have designated Tuesday as Equal Pay Day, the date when a woman's average earnings match what a man earned in the previous calendar year alone.

That's not fair, and it's outrageous to see that gap persisting. But if you take a look at the text of an equal pay bill pending on Beacon Hill right now, you get a feel for how hard it's going to be to legislate a solution.

Section 2, paragraph B of the pay equity act lays out exceptions to itself, including a "bona fide system that rewards seniority," a "bona fide merit system," and differences in "education, training or experience." In other words, there are plenty of valid scenarios in which two workers doing the same job might earn different salaries, regardless of their gender.

Maybe the well-meaning energy being spent on pushing this bill should pursue other goals - creating more jobs and better education for all, along with more options for day care and other types of support women may need to compete on an equal footing.

Otherwise, a push for gender justice could wind up as just another full-employment act for lawyers.