Equal Pay In The Workplace Case Study

1050 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women at work equality versus inequality

The first significant equality legislation in the UK was the Equal Pay Act 1970 . However, the issue of equal pay in the workplace can be traced back to the 19th century. This essay will analyse how economic and social factors of the 19th and 20th century were the reasons for highlighting the issue of equal pay in the workplace. However, with the gender pay gap standing at 19.2 per cent in 2015 , there can be no defining reason for equal pay in the workplace. Consequently, this essay will then discuss how equality legislation has challenged unequal pay in the workplace, but in its reactive approach has failed its objective. Furthermore, this essay will then discuss the remedies for equal pay in the workplace by analysing the impact on both …show more content…

Consequently the UK did not implement the Equal Pay act 1970 until thirty years after the Second World War. Hence, in 1947 the Labour Government announced that it supported the principle of equal pay, but that it was unable to implement it because it would be inflationary and detrimental to the British economy . Although, after the UK entered the common market in 1973, they would now be subject to Article 119(now Article 157) . Thus, in Commission v United Kingdom the ECJ held that the Equal Pay Act 1970 did not comply with the Treaties requirements by allowing a woman to claim equal pay for work of equal value. Therefore, despite the continued rejection from parliament on economic grounds, it is clear that socialist and economic factors, caused by the Second World War had an impact on bringing about equal pay in the workplace in the UK. This can be seen along with women led movements of 1960’s, such as the Fords Strike of 1968 and Gunter’s replacement by Barbara Castle in 1968, who was essential in pushing for the implementation of the Equal Pay Act 1970 . However, despite such factors contributing to the implementation of equality legislation, it can be debated whether equality legislation is the result of equal pay in the

Show More
Related

  • Gender Wage Gap In Canada

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    To resolve the gender wage gap, the government should consult with employers in federally-regulated sectors to apply a gender-based analysis to the design, development, implementation and evaluation of the policy. The law should clearly outline the systematic discrimination that women face in the workforce. This policy would entail employers to determine whether gender-based disparities exists and reevaluate the current pay system from an equity perspective to ensure and promote pay transparency. The law of ensuring pay equity should first be applied to the public sector, including federal public servants, employees of Crown cooperation and federally regulated companies. After this law has been found to be effective, it is also recommended that private corporations follow the same suit and comply with the pay equity

    Read More

  • Women of world War 2

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women opportunities and lifestyles were negatively impacted due to the inequalities that women faced in the working sphere. The wage gap the years following World War Two were obviously lower than the men's. It was in the 1980's when women only earned sixty-four cents to a male dollar. Although laws came into effect like the Equal Pays Act in 1963, there were still unfairness with wages. It did very little in changing women's status as women were still not seen equally to men. Women were maintained as a cheap labour force because society thought that the insignificance of women's work would be threatened if women and men share the same jobs. To ensure the continuation of inexpensive women labour, they were confined to certain jobs which became known as " female occupations". This gender segregation further claimed that women's work was less important, hence appropriate for l...

    Read More

  • Gender Equality In Australia Essay

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    This issue has as affected both past and present society. In any democratic society, this is a concern that is to be taken more seriously. Australia has dealt with gender equality of wages for a long period and nowhere in Australia’s history have women and men’s wages been equal. Due to this significant gap, women seem to be

    Read More

  • Equal Pay

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Equal Pay Act (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act), forbids employers to compensate women differently for jobs that are “substantially equal”, that is, almost identical. Traditionally, women have worked in different occupations than men; these occupations tend to be substantially different, pay less and confer less authority.

    Read More

  • Double Standard

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    The work force consisted mostly of men, workers and higher executive style positions. During the mid twentieth century a woman would earn about half of what men earned for the same exact job, and with the same qualifications. The reason behind this was that a woman, especially a married woman is likely to work less due to the risk of having a child. In the work place the pay for women and number of managerial jobs, doctors, and lawyers has increased, however, equal pay is still a goal. The “glass ceiling” effect is an idea tha...

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality In Maggie, A Girl Of The Streets

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    The effort of pursuing gender equality is one that has faced many trials and tribulations throughout American History. Modern day movements to promote gender equality have stemmed from previous movements. Ideas of equal pay for equal work, equal job opportunities, equal opportunities within education all can be traced back to as late as the Industrial Revolution. Due to the job growth, because of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, the necessity to hire women became more prominent within the factories. Females began working in factories and started to earn wages less than men. Soon after women recognized the disparity in their wages compared to their male counterparts, the women understood that they were being treated unequally. Not only were they making lower wages than the men, they were working in worse conditions with very little opportunity to advance.

    Read More

  • Unequal Pay For Equal Work � Feminist Theory

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Canadian history, discrimination in all forms has been a constant battle; whether its race, gender, religion, beliefs, appearance or anything else that makes one person different from another. One significant inequity problem the world’s population is combatting occurs during employment. Women, who are equally trained, educated, and equipped with the same skill, as men are not getting equal, pay. This form of injustice dates back for centuries and derives from the common belief that men supply for women and women stay at home with the children, thus it is assumed that men therefore are more efficient in their career. This is also

    Read More

  • Equal Pay Act Case Study

    765 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Texas, the government has not yet been able to set up a fair budget system that is equal for both male and female. This has been an ongoing process since the time of segregation, when people were not being treated as equal. Texas has had issues dealing with pay equity, not only that but the national government in Texas has not approached this issue properly, there are many other methods of how Texas can approached this issue.

    Read More

  • Equal Pay Act Of 1963 Essay

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, before the act was instated it was argued in the 1950’s that the reasoning behind unequal pay was because two thirds of

    Read More

  • Gender Equality In Employment Law Case Study

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    As explained by Leimon, et al., (2010) the biggest concern of the diversity, the gender can be considered. It hits more of the population than any other sort of diversity in all societies. Bajdo & Dickson, (2001) found, one of the organizational cultural practices of gender equality was found to be the most important predictor of the percentage of women in management. Gender equality in Employment Law is an important milestone in the development of women workers’ rights. Somehow, the implementation of same has been severely criticised by some Asian countries (Rowley & Yukongdi, 2009). Klenke, (2011) defined, gender is one theoretical lens through which gender has been abstracted in the leadership and management literature. Moreover, today’s women want all, like their male colleagues. But few are succeeding. In the last 50 years, women have made astonishing gains, smashing gender barriers in all aspects of life. More young women have selected careers in usually male-dominated fields and they no longer have to choose between marriage and family (Home Wood Health, 2015).

    Read More

  • Inequality In The Workplace

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    For many decades, women have faced inequalities in the workforce. At one point, they were not allowed to work at all. Although women's rights have improved and are now able to work alongside men, they are still treated unfairly. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, women’s earnings were “76.5 percent of men’s” (1). In 2012, men, on average, earned $47,398 and women earned only $35,791. This is when comparing employees where both gender spend the same amount of time working. Not only do women encounter unfairness in work pay, they also face a “glass ceiling” on a promotional basis. This glass ceiling is a “promotion barrier that prevents woman’s upward ability” (2). For example, if a woman is able to enter a job traditionally for men, she will still not receive the same pay or experience the same increase in occupational ability. Gender typing plays a huge role in the workplace. It is the idea that women tend to hold jobs that are low paid with low status. Women are not highly considered in leadership positions because of social construction of gender. Society has given women the role of “caretakers” and sensitive individuals. Therefore, women are not depicted as authoritative figures, which is apparent with the absence of women in leadership roles in companies. Furthermore, sex segregation leads to occupations with either the emphasis of women in a certain job or men in a certain job. In 2009, occupations with the highest proportion of women included “secretary, child care worker, hair dresser, cashier, bookkeeper, etc.” (3). Male workers typically held job positions as construction workers, truck drivers, taxi drivers, etc. (3). Sex segregation represents inequality because the gender composition for these jobs depends on what ...

    Read More

  • Employment: The Justification of Unequal Pay

    1890 Words  | 4 Pages

    Article 141 of the EC Treaty, requires each European Union member state to ensure that both sexes receive equal pay for equal work. Article 141, implemented in Great Britain by the Equal Pay Act (EPA) 1970 enforced the principle that men and women should receive the same pay. An employer who fails to abide by article 141, will be held liable for unequal pay unless he can show under s.1 (3) EPA that the difference in pay is explained by something that has nothing to do with sex. If he can show this, then the claim will fail.

    Read More

  • Equity in the Workplace

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    Employment, Inc is committed to a policy, as stated by the Federal Employment Equity, of achieving equality in the workplace so that no person is denied employment opportunities, pay or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability. Employment, Inc is therefore committed to equal employment opportunities, as stated by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for all applicants and employees without regard to age, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, physical or mental disability or any other unlawful grounds. In order to ensure an equitable workplace, Employment, Inc abides by a number of objectives as required by law. These objectives consist of::Workforce Survey - a collection of data on existing employees and determine those that fall into one of the designated categories.

    Read More

  • Bridging The Gender Gap Essay

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    UK equal pay legislation has had radical effects on grading and pay, however, after four decades since the Equal Pay Act was introduced the gender pay gap for median earnings of full-time employees is 9.4 per cent (Office for National Statistic, 2015). Followed by Equal Pay Act in 1975 the Sex Discrimination Act was introduced. The Act prohibits discrimination on the ground of sex implies that anyone who doesn’t comply can face legal consequences. At that time both the Equal Pay act and the Sex discrimination Act seem to be too radical to introduce at once; before these were freely implemented the public attitudes needed to

    Read More

  • What Is Equal Pay Of Equal Work?

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Equal pay of equal work means that every individual should be given equal pay at the same workplace. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full range of payments and benefits, including basic pay, non-salary payments, bonuses and allowances. (Wikepedia, 2017) Are women less capable in a workplace compared to men? In the world of today that everyone is pursuing for gender equality, women are as capable as men in their workplace, they should not be labeled as the vulnerable group that causes them to get a lower pay compared to men.

    Read More

More about Equal Pay In The Workplace Case Study

Open Document