I got a question, so I shall give an answer:
Like most males on the coli, do you feel that marriage is only beneficial to the woman? Also, do you feel that the corporate world is still sexist toward women?
I hate to give such a "lawyer" answer, but regarding
whether marriage is only beneficial to the woman is an answer that's dependent on the parties involved. In a lot of cases, a woman can and up in an abusive marriage that eats away at her daily because she's voluntarily staying in her prison because she doesn't want the blight of a divorce in her past or because she wants to provide a nuclear family unit for her kids. Conversely, a similar situation can happen to men (which I see all too often with wealthy attorneys) where there may be a beautiful housewife waiting at home... but that's all she really does, is wait. She may have a couple of kids with the man, but otherwise rely on rich staff or daycare to raise them.
I'm guessing, however, that this also might have to do with the law behind marriage and how family court handles divorces.
Here's the rub with an actual marriage contract: it heavily favors women to the point where the 50/50 divorce rate gamble (75% divorce rate here in California) becomes something completely unappealing and repulsive. Not only do men lose a huge chunk of what they've worked their whole lives to build, but they also have to go into court with the social stigma as the one who failed the marriage. However, both of these things pale in comparison to what I've seen happen to men that love their kids
lose their kids. Things like suicide and depression are extremely likely to develop with men who lose out like this.
I've worked with family law firms before. I've been closely acquainted with both sides of divorces. I've seen how easily a court can get manipulated by crocodile tears and by trumped up charges of abuse and molestation despite the accused party being innocent.
With all of these risks, it seems like a bit much in contrast what there is to gain: kids (which can be conceived and raised without marriage) and "not being alone," even though there's nothing more lonely than being in a relationship you don't want to be in.
Despite all of this,
holy shyt men
can benefit from a marriage. At least they could have in the past... It just has to be with the right woman. The right woman can inspire a man, energize him, inject him with the creativity, the love, and the positive outlook to achieve his full potential in life. Damn... I miss that feeling.
The problem here is that many men (and women) look for love in the wrong places with the wrong people and even go (figuratively) asking for it in the wrong way. I see a lot of men and women making terrible relationship decisions that seem outright obvious to me. In fact, it seems so obvious that I can only conclude that people are only making these mistakes either through willful blindness or blatant masochism for emotional pain.
Also, people look at relationships the same way that they look at a natural resource, rather than, you know, a relationship. They look at it as: "What can I get this person to do for me by being in a relationship with them," rather than, "I really love and admire this person. I can't wait to have a steady flow of good words and good deeds between the two of us."
On the whole, there is way, way too much for men to lose with the current state of the law and social norms being the way that they currently are, with little to gain.
Sorry for the long winded response. Regarding your second question...
On balance, I would say that the corporate world is pretty fair to women. There are pockets of sexism here and there and certain industries wherein women are underrepresented, but the same could be said about men in other industries. The pay gap myth has been debunked many, many times here on the internet, so I'll just post the link rather than go into a long-winded speech about why it's a myth:
The Gender Pay Gap is a Complete Myth - CBS News
The last 5-7% disparity in salary is something that I think could probably be more explained by height than by gender, as the disparity between short men and taller men is similar.
There is also the fact that women tend to go for lower-paying jobs and career tracks, work less hours, and when they own their own business, they do it for stability and convenience rather than the desire to create a burgeoning business empire. There are many, many factors that play in to pay disparity that have less to do with the powers that be in the business world, rather than the women deciding to enter it.
There may be an "old boy's club" in the business world, but it's dying off. In addition to this, there's also a "new girl's club" that can provide support and networking whenever it's needed for an ambitious young woman. I'm cool with this. Whatever gets the right people to the top, I suppose.
So although gender politics has a checkered presence in corporate America, it, on balance, doesn't hurt women in any meaningful way and can be counter-balanced very effectively with the right networking to a young woman's advantage.