THE MATH BEHIND:

Teachers make more than lawyers.

Overview

If in 1925 women had gained an equal voice in how money is spent, teaching and law would have followed radically different economic paths. In our timeline, teaching became a heavily female-dominated profession (76% women in 2022) and suffered a 20–30% wage penalty due to occupational devaluation, while law remained male-dominated with an artificial wage premium. With gender parity from 1925, teaching would not have feminized to this degree, removing the wage penalty, while women legislators—who allocate 1.5–1.7× more to education—would have driven education budgets 25–35% higher. Over a century, compounded funding increases push teacher pay more than four times higher than in our reality, while the “male premium” in law salaries disappears. By 2024, teachers earn 12–18% more than lawyers, reflecting the true social and economic value of education.

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Reality data points that informed the research

Teaching is 76% female today, causing a wage penalty of 20–30% for the profession.

Events that led up to it

1925

Alternate reality begins

In this experiment, we went back 100 years and made women and men equal in the economy. Key changes included making women 50% of company executives, 50% of stock market investors, 50% of the startup founders getting funded, and 50% of financial decision makers at home.

1930s

Women in labor economics

Early women-led economic research influences labor standards and wage equity debates.

1960s

Gun safety laws pass

Comprehensive gun legislation enacted decades earlier with women’s representation.

1970s

Prevention research doubles

Expanded funding reduces national violence by up to 18% per decade.

1980s

Mental health programs expand

School-based services cut school violence by as much as 60%.

1990s

School shootings fall

Rates drop below 0.5 per year, never reaching the 2.3+ that triggered drills.

2024

No active shooter drills

Children enter school never having experienced an active shooter drill.