Unmasking the Gender Pay Gap: Causes and Impact

Lilly Ledbetter once said, “We sought justice because equal pay for equal work is an American value. That fight took me ten years. it took me all the way to the Supreme Court. And, in a 5-4 decision, they stood on the side of those who shortchanged my pay, my overtime, and my retirement just because I am a woman.” The gender pay gap is a problem that many women, like Lilly Ledbetter, face everyday because it has many different causes, and it has a large impact on the economy in the United States.
The gender pay gap has existed ever since women entered the workforce. Right now in the United States, the average female worker earns 78 percent of what the average male worker earns (“Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends”). Also, according to the

Council of Economic Advisors, “women account for 47 percent of the labor force and they hold 49.3 percent of jobs (women are more likely to hold two or more jobs and they are less likely to be self-employed).” Women are not just getting paid less, they are also receiving less benefits than men. These benefits include health and retirement benefits, flexible work schedule, paid leave, and training opportunities (“Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends”). Throughout their work career, the pay gap widens. “Young people tend to start their careers with more similar levels of earnings, but over time, a gender gap emerges and grows” (“Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends”). Throughout an average woman's career, she will lose around $431,000 due to the pay gap (Cooper). Even if women are successful in a male dominated profession, they are thought of as “less competent and likable than men.”(“Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends”). Men are earning more in every industry, not just male-dominated industries (Dishman). Furthermore, the gender pay gap has greatly impacted many people’s lives.
The U.S. government has tried to fix the pay gap in the past. During World War I, pay equity was first introduced as a regulation from the War Labor Board of 1918 (Cooper). During World War II, more women in America got jobs, and the National War Labor Board encouraged employers to pay women the same as their male counterparts (Cooper). Until the 1960s, advertisements for jobs were separated by gender (Cooper). In 1964, John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, which made it illegal to pay women less than men based on their gender (Cooper). Today, there are still laws being made to help close the pay gap.
There are a variety of things that factor into the gender pay gap.

The first thing that factors in is that women are more likely to work in lower paying jobs including: retail trade, leisure and hospitality. There are not very many women who work in the three jobs with the highest wages: information services, mining and logging, and utilities (“Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends”). According to the Council of Economic Advisors, “women are also slightly less likely than men to have access to paid leave and, perhaps as a result, are slightly more likely to take leave without pay.” Discrimination is another factor. Women may be influenced which job to choose base on discrimination, and it can cause women to leave their position (“Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends”). According to the Council of Economic Advisors, there are less women who are receiving science and math degrees even though, in 2013, women earned 57 percent of all bachelor’s degree, 35 percent of which were in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. The level of education does not help the wage gap either, no matter what level of education women have there is still a pay gap (Dishman). The Council of Economic Advisors also says that “in general, women, even highly-educated women, are less likely to negotiate their first job offer than men. But even when women do negotiate, if the norms of negotiation and salary expectations are not transparent, they are likely to receive less than men.” A survey from

2010 showed that 19 percent of employers did not allow talk of salary and 31 percent of employers were discouraged from discussing pay (“Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends”). This is a big obstacle in the way of closing the gender pay gap.
One of the biggest factors is prioritizing family over work.

The IWF has found that when women take leave for their family, men are able to gain experience and therefore more earnings (Cooper). According to Lydia Frank from the Harvard Business Review, “...the largest pay gaps existed between married mothers and fathers who tell us they prioritize family at least 1-4 times per year. No pay gap existed between single men and women without children who said they never prioritize home/family over work.” The causes of the gender pay gap can be easily fixed if the government takes

action.
The United States economy could greatly benefit from closing the gender pay gap. When people are in jobs that fit their qualifications and skills, it increases productivity, which benefits individual businesses and the whole economy (“Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends”). “...a survey of California employers found that 90 percent reported that paid leave did not harm productivity, profitability, turnover, or morale” (“Gender Pay Gap: Recent Trends”). According to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, “... supporting women to fulfil their potential could increase the size of our economy by 35%.” Overall in 2012, the U.S. economy would have made $447.6 billion more if women had received equal pay (Clark). In addition to boosting the economy, equal pay could drastically reduce the poverty rate. About sixty percent of women would earn more if they were paid the same amount as their male counterparts (Clark). Furthermore, the poverty rate for working women would go from 8.1 percent to 3.9 percent and the poverty rate for single working mothers would be cut in half, from 28.7 percent to 15 percent (Clark). Equal pay will benefit all Americans in one way or another.
Many people believe that the gender pay gap can be closed even though it has existed for many years. Equal pay will be very advantageous to the United States economy. If women are provided with the right tools, and they are able to overcome the obstacles, the gender pay gap will close. The question is, how are women going to overcome the obstacles that are keeping them from closing the gap.