Is it the scarcity principle?  The Atlantic reports:  If scarcity imparts value, male babysitters have it all figured out.  Less than 3 percent of all babysitters are men, but they still earn $15 an hour.  Females going rate is $14.50.more than their female counterparts.  The gender-wage gap penetrates even the most feminine of feminized professions. Even female administrative assistants, teachers, and nurses—three fields that are dominated by women—still make less than their male colleagues by about 10 percent.

Is it because men are more confident and can command higher wages? Or because there are so few male babysitters that the ones who are drawn to this sort of work are uniquely qualified in some way—maybe they’re beloved, master fort-builders, for example, or actual child-rearing specialists.

The best paid babysitters are actually in their late 20s, rather than their teens or 30s. And if you want to make some serious change watching other peoples’ kids on occasion, move to New York, where the going rate is $17.50 an hour, which is more than the average income Mississippi and nine other states.