How many times have leftist social justice warriors (SJWs) railed about “the patriarchy” and its supposedly inherent oppressive agenda? One of the primary examples trotted out by these advocates of wokeness to assert the “truthfulness” and “moral” superiority of their demands that society go socialist is the dubious “gender pay gap.” The claim essentially goes like this: Western society is a chauvinist boys club propped up by oppressing others, especially women, and men do this because if they don’t suppress women, then women would rule the world … or something. In short, the “gender pay gap” trope is used to justify demands for greater government controls over the lives of everyone, especially businesses. This is because most businesses are run by men. And men, feminists claim, don’t pay women a fair wage because they are mostly a bunch of sexists, which feminists can supposedly prove via the gender pay gap.

However, when the “gender pay gap” claim is actually researched, it becomes clear that the gender discrepancy within the average pay rate between men and women overall has very little to do with sexism and much more to do with individual choice. In general, men and women value different things when it comes to career goals. And as clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson points out, in the West — which has greater support for individual liberty — the discrepancy between men’s and women’s career choices actually expands rather than contracts.

But are the loudly voiced complaints about a lack of fairness, allegedly exposed by the existence of a gender pay gap, really all about equality? Such were the claims of players for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team, who lamented unfair treatment and sexism because their contracts allegedly didn’t pay them as much as the men’s team, when in fact they were paid more than the men’s team. A false narrative that successfully moves a political football is really the goal.

Recent data reveal that despite the gender pay gap claims, the exact opposite has been occurring — and it appears to be getting worse. According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, women younger than 30 are now earning more money than their male counterparts in 22 of the country’s largest cities. Those cities include Washington, DC, New York, and Los Angeles.

How can this be? The primary reason appears to be the rate of college education between men and women. For several years now, the percentage of college graduates who are women has outdistanced men. With college degrees generally commanding higher starting salaries and pay rates, as well as faster rates of pay increases, it doesn’t take long to see how that would turn the gender pay gap on its head.

But does this news bring out concerns from the SJWs that suddenly men are falling behind? Nope. In fact, the only thing they focus on is the need to ensure that women will continue to command the same if not higher salaries than men, even if they choose to have a family and take significant time off to do so. In other words, the goal is not equality or even equity, nor is it even feminist dominance. The goal is socialism with bigger government needed to meet the ever-increasing “needs” of people’s lives.

So, never mind the troubling trend of the dropping number of men earning bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees. No need for the traditional breadwinner to provide for his family by working and collecting a good wage, because such a view is supposedly sexist and against women. Is it any wonder that more young men are self-identifying as women? Could it all be for the social accolades and perks? Mock a woman, and you’re liable to get slapped across the face. But mock a man, especially if he’s white and heterosexual, and it’s applauded.