Addressing the gender pay gap remains a pressing concern in today's workforce, prompting heated debates and calls for action. In this essay, I aim to explore this issue comprehensively, targeting an audience comprising businessmen, economists, and corporate workers—individuals who wield influence over policies and practices related to employment. By presenting evidence-backed arguments and appealing to their expertise, I seek to foster meaningful dialogue and drive tangible progress in closing the gender pay gap. Recent discussions surrounding the gender pay gap have ignited controversy and raised important questions about its implications for women in the workplace. While some argue for its justification, others advocate vehemently for its elimination. As we delve deeper into this issue, it's crucial to examine the multifaceted drawbacks of the pay gap. Beyond mere …show more content…
Recent data from reputable sources, such as the Pew Research Center, reveal persistent disparities, indicating the need for immediate action. While there have been strides towards equal pay, more needs to be done to sustain and accelerate this progress. Women bear the brunt of the gender pay gap, earning less than their male counterparts and enduring an unequal work environment. This disparity not only impacts their motivation and work ethic, but also perpetuates occupational segregation. It's imperative to recognize that this controversy extends beyond mere statistics; it reflects deeply ingrained societal norms and biases that must be addressed comprehensively. In her insightful article, "Why Closing the Gender Gap Matters," Jennifer Rubin highlights the pervasive societal consequences of the gender pay gap. Rubin emphasizes the collective effort required by various stakeholders—including government, employers, unions, and opinion makers—to effect meaningful
Though any pay disparity between women and men is a pressing issue, the “wage gap” is much more complicated than people believe because of misleading statistics, unaccounted for variables, and the different social and economic choices of men and women. The common idea that women make 77 cents on every dollar men make in the workplace is very misleading. It is true, however, this statistic ignores any factors that justify different pay. The wage gap is just the difference
When President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963 into law, he hoped that it would allow working women to finally earn the same amount of money as men; however, more than half a century later, men continue to out earn women in almost every field of work (Lipman para. 4). Male dominated fields tend to pay more than female dominated fields at similar skill levels. In 2012, women earned an average of $691 per week while men earned an average of $854 per week. Furthermore, the majority of women remain unaware that they are earning less than their male colleagues (Hegewisch para. 1). The gender wage gap not only harms a woman’s ability to provide for herself, it also harms many children and families. Women are now the primary caregivers
The United States has one of the highest gender pay gaps among the developed countries. In the country, the gender pay gap is measured as the ratio of female to males yearly earning among workers in full-time, year round (FTYR) earnings. In 2009, female FTYR earned 77% (0.77) as much as the FTYR male workers (US Census Bureau, 2013). The history of Gender Gap earning reveals USA has made big strides towards reducing the gender pay gap from 1980. For instance, in 1980 the gender pay gap ratio was 0.62 while in 1990, the gap stood at 0.72. Further from 1990 to 2000, the gap reduced to 0.73 and then to 0.77 in 2009. Currently, the gender pay gap stands at 0.76 and continues to persist (US Census Bureau, 2013).
Women are more than half the work force and are graduating at higher rates then men and continue to earn considerably less then men. There are several contributing factors to the gender wage gap. Women experience gender discrimination in the work force even though it’s been illegal since the Equal Pay Act in 1963. One of the challenges for women is uncovering discrimination. There is a lack of transparency in earnings because employees are either contractually prohibited or it’s strongly discouraged from being discussed. Discrimination also occurs in the restricting of women’s access to jobs with the highest commission payments, or access to lucrative clients.
Due to various countries initiatives to shrink the wage inequality between men and women wages in the work force, the gap has narrowed, respectively, which may have helped form such opinion. However, stating that the gender pay gap does not exist in today’s society, anywhere, is completely unlikely. Seeing that the gap has loosened its grasp in the working world, in other countries, the gap between pay has widened or remained stagnant. One cannot help but wonder why the gap remains consistent, even with such substantial progress made in countries where the gap has decreased. Reasons as to why gender wage gap exist so heavily, slightly differs from country to country, but the overall effect from the wage disparity is wholly evident.
Society places men and women unequally at different levels. Men and women are separately designated and diversely rewarded because of their gender. Despite the increase in the amount of women in the workforce, women who work in a male dominated industry are being restricted from exhibiting their full potential in pay and advancement opportunities.
It is very important to be concerned about the issue because it is constantly increasing throughout the United States. It upsets me that women are paid less than men because women have the same ability and work ethic as men do, but they are looked at differently. According to AAUW, women make 77 percent of what men make. This rate hasn’t changed since 2002 (Hill, 2013). Statistics show that women will never make as much as men due to the thought of never being comparable to men (Williams, 2013).
The gender wage gap is a major issue in the United States. Today, not everyone reaches equity with one another. Gender inequality is the idea that males and females are unequal. One receives different treatment because of his or her gender. A result of gender inequality is the gender pay gap.
In today’s society, Women perform similar jobs to men. Whether it’s blue or white collar jobs, women are always present and thriving for success balancing a life of business and family. In the job market, some are graduates of the best schools and have interned at the best firms, but are still not compensated as equally as men. Following the recent comments by the CEO of Microsoft concerning women asking for raises and how they should trust the system to install equality, the issue seems to be still present, and women’s work is not rewarded similarly to men’s.
Gender Inequality at a Workplace Historically, males and females normally assume different kinds of jobs with varying wages in the workplace. These apparent disparities are widely recognized and experienced across the globe, and the most general justification for these differences is that they are the direct outcomes of discrimination or traditional gender beliefs—that women are the caregivers and men are the earners. However, at the turn of the new century, women have revolutionized their roles in the labor market. Specifically in industrialized societies, the social and economic position of women has shifted. Despite the improving participation of women in the labor force and their ameliorating proficiency and qualifications, the labor force is still not so favorable to women.
Eventually, if this gender bias continues, women in America will accept the fact that they will never be paid equally. Some may not even have an issue with it because the gender gap may not seem that large. However, the gap seems huge when the years continue to add up. “By the time a college-educated woman turns 59, she will have lost almost $800,000 throughout her life due to the gender wage gap.” Even though the pay gap is only by 10%, that 10% makes a huge difference throughout the years of one’s
Women, on average, earn less than men in nearly every single occupation. In middle-skill occupations, workers in jobs mainly done by women earn only 66 percent of workers in jobs mainly done by men. IWPR’s report on sex and race discrimination in the workplace shows that outright discrimination in pay, hiring, or promotions continues to be a significant feature of working
Despite government regulations to promote equality within the workplace, women’s salaries continue to lag behind males in similar career with similar experiences. According to research performed by Blau & Kahn (2007) “women salaries averaged about 60% of men’s until the 1970s and rose to nearly 80% by the 1990s” (as cited in Bendick, Jr. & Nunes, 2012, p.244). Today, women on average earn approximately $.81 for every dollar that men earn in the United States (Guy and Fenley P.41 2014).
In their 2016 report, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) found that in the United States, women working full time mad only eighty percent of what men earned in 2015. This report shows a general gender pay gap of twenty percent. However, there has been a great deal of debate surrounding the gender pay gap. Some of the topics that have been debated about the gender pay gap are its size, the reasons for the gap, and whether of not it is fair. The gender pay gap is a complex issue and the lack of awareness around it only adds to the debate (Lips,
Currently, there is still inequality in pay for men and women during the same job, which is an act of gender discrimination in the workplace. Gender discrimination is defined as prejudice or discrimination based on an individual’s gender. Gender equality is attained when individuals are able to access and enjoy equal rewards and opportunities, irrespective of their gender. Various countries have made substantial progress concerning gender equality in recent years. Conversely, women still endure less salary earnings in comparison to men, moreover, women are less likely to advance their careers as far as men are able to.