Feminists like to claim that women have been oppressed for years due to a gap in wages. In reality, the reason is due to personal choice, not because employers are discriminating against women. An employer has to measure opportunity cost when hiring someone, especially a woman who is married and is planning to have children. Men are more likely to pursue positions as lawyers, doctors and business executives while women are more likely to pursue careers as nurses, teachers, domestic work, and secretaries, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve. Total compensation with wages and benefits is only a difference of three percent between men and women. The Department of Labor states that men work an average of 8.14 hours on a full time basis compared to 7.75 hours for women. Women account for 24% of positions in STEM fields also. If more women emphasized on pursuing high paying positions, especially in STEM fields, and focused less on having children, the gap would decrease dramatically.