Reflections on the Gender Wage Gap

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The gender wage gap is a complicated issue that has persisted despite the Equal Pay Act of 1963 that promised equal pay for equal work. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010, women on average earned 81 cents for every dollar men earned, creating concern among scholars, policy makers, and the press, and lingering questions as to cause (2011). While the wage gap has narrowed considerably in the nearly 50 years since the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, many contend that the gap has not narrowed fast or far enough. Although, a full understanding of all necessary and sufficient causes remains elusive, a number of causes and contributing factors are observable, including the demand-side problem of occupational discrimination, the supply-side problem of occupational segregation, and the cultural pervasiveness of traditional gender roles that place much of the burden of family responsibilities on women.

Occupational Discrimination

While women make up a significant portion of the labor force, few women reach the top of the occupational food chain. Notable leadership scholar, Peter Northouse (2010) observes that women make up 46.7% of the labor force, hold 50.8% of the managerial and professional positions and have earned more Bachelors degrees than men, encompassing 57.5% of all degrees earned (p. 305). Yet, only 3% of all companies in the Fortune 500 have women as their CEO, just 15.2% hold board seats in these same companies and only 16.8% are members of the U.S. Congress (Northouse, 2010). The discrepancy is suggestive of a glass ceiling preventing women from achieving the same career growth as men indicating occupational discrimination of some form.

There is significant legislation in place to pr...

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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2011). Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex. In cpsaat39.pdf (Ed.). Washington DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2009). Table HINC-05. Percent Distribution of Households, by Selected Characteristics Within Income Quintile and Top 5 Percent in 2009. In new05_000.htm (Ed.). Washington DC: U.S Census Bureau.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2011a). Federal Laws Preventing Job Discrimination: Questions and Answers Retrieved July 23, 2011, from http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/qanda.html

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2011b). Overview Retrieved July 23, 2011, from http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/index.cfm

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