Wage Gap

In American society today there is an imbalance in the gender income gap between men and women in the work force. Many factors such as discrimination, productivity, educational background and disproportional hours worked contribute to this ongoing challenge. While many are skeptical, others remain to have strong beliefs that women and men are treated equally. In most professions according to Glynn “women only earn seventy seven cents for every dollar earned by men” (2014). Although, the seventy seven cents figure does not accurately reflect gender discrimination, it does capture some discrimination,

In 1920, Women first acquired to right to vote after years and years of fighting to achieve it. This would be the first measure toward equality for women. During WWII while all the men were fighting in the war, women built the weapons for them. We later entered the workforce after the war. It currently shown now that there is a 20 percent wage gap for women. But did anyone know that in 2015 there was a 21 cent wage gap between men and women? Which means that the only difference between the wage gap issue as of last year and now is a 1 cent difference. So tell me, what do you think that wage gap is caused by, or better yet what is it? Well there are many different opinions, to some the wage gap is merely a percentage that

On a broader aspect, it says men and women are equal. Though at a bottom level, women are still struggling to occupy the same status as men in the outer world. Stratification between the two genders is seen everywhere including the household or the workplace. Even today, women still earns less as compared to men involved in the same profession. Like a male physician makes $140,000, while a female in the same profession makes $88,000. Statisticians at the US census bureau looked at almost 821 occupations. After adjusting for workers’ ages, education and work experience, they found a substantial gender gap in the earnings of the workers. Scholars at the Census Bureau studied several characteristics and after taking into

The U.S.A is widely perceived to be a nation of freedom by other countries but it seems very restrictive on some issues it has been battling since it was founded. America’s population needs to change many things before it can truly be name the “Land of the free”. The definition of freedom is flexible but it’s doubtful that discrimination and intolerance is in any of them.

In a 2015 study, it is shown that the wage gap can even seem to increase at higher degrees of education. For men and women with less than a high school diploma, the wage gap is at about 20%. Surprisingly, for men and women with an advanced degree, the wage gap is 26%. While The wage gap steadily closed at a relatively rapid pace between the 1960s and 1990s, improving from a 60 percent gap to a 71 percent gap. But since 2000, progress has all but flatlined. Men earned $50,400 at the median in 2014, while women earned $39,600. Neither gender has seen a significant increase in their median earnings since 2009, and women’s 2014 median earnings were not statistically different than what they made in 2007. In conclusion, this is a big issue across the nation, and shown by statistics, not much has been done in the recent

The pay gap between genders exhibits sexism in America yet some researchers are in denial. Warren Farrell, expert on gender issues within legislation and former board member of National Organization for Women, claims otherwise. In his book Why Men Earn More, he attributes difference in wages to females choosing human resources jobs, which pay less, and not choosing harsher jobs that pay more (Farrell). His overall point is that men sacrifice more thus companies pay more for those sacrifices. His argument only compares the genders when different job requirements alter wages, but does not mention wages of identical jobs.

Women and minorities would also benefit from the increase wages, as it will close the gap in wage inequality. According to Economic Policy Institute, “The Raise the Wage Act also would help closes the gender wage gap. Not only would more women than men get a raise under the bill, but because women are especially concentrated in the very lowest-paying jobs, they also would see the largest increases in their pay.” (December 2013, Cooper) As a result, women and minorities would have advantages to an increase wages, as it will make them feel that they are getting fair pay for their work.

Before entering the course I had a mediocre level of understanding about women and gender issues. Prior to the course, I understood that women and men were viewed in different ways. This difference created issues for women such as the unequal pay gap in the United States. The material presented to me throughout the course has aided me in seeing the vast amount of issues women face in their daily lives and the complexity of the issues. It has influenced my perspective into view the issues through a wider lens which take into account each part of the problem.

Even with women’s increasing workplace successes over the passing years, the gender wage gap continues on. Scholars and researchers descriptions of the pay differences are explained at vaguely two different levels. There are individual differences in workplace results that are sometimes credited to gender specific preferences. At the college level, institutional practices may hinder women, or certain laws in place can balance out the results of these practices. We’re making an effort to rise above this separation by examining the wage gap at both levels; our study plans to contribute to filling this gap.

Women remain at an economic disadvantage compared to men due to the fact that some occupations still pay women less than their male counterparts. This unequal pay reinforces the thinking that it is okay for men to make more than women just because of their gender. This is an obstacle within the workplace which prevents a woman from advancing her career and allows for higher positions to continue consisting almost entirely of men. Present day in the labour market, “Canadian women earn 23% less than men regardless of their age, education or occupation” (Struman, 2015). Even though women have been quite successful in seeking employment and many possess a decent education, women continue to face a difference in pay because of their gender. In order to be seen as equals women need to be earning the same amount as their male coworkers because they possess the necessary skills needed to complete the job. Differences in pay should be based on an individual’s qualifications and job experience not their gender. The difference in pay prevents women from achieving success and reinforces the point that women remain at an economic disadvantage. Gender based pay is problematic and “[t]he Canadian gender pay gap is the fifth largest among the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries… [and] the pay gap is particularly pronounced for single mothers, racialized women, First Nations women, and women with disabilities” (Struman, 2015). Gender

Inequality has been a dilemma for several years in countless different ways. A persistent problem with disproportion of income between women and men has been lingering within many companies in the United States. It has been said that women earn less money than men in the workplace for many different reasons. Some of these reasons are that women have not spent enough time in the office to be rewarded with raises and bonuses because they are busy with their home lives and taking care of their children, they, unlike men, have been taught to be timid and unaggressive which ultimately steers them away from requesting higher pay, or they do not meet the qualifications to receive promotions (Hymowitz, 2008). This essay is in response to On

The wage gap refers to the undeniable differences between men and women within the labor force, which includes the percentage of employees, occupational positions, and their wages (Golden). Undeviating research indicates that women’s wages are overwhelmingly unequal in comparison to men’s. Specifically In the United States, women’s income on average is seventy-six percent of men’s income (Besen 2). A study on the adolescent labor market discovered that gender inequality in pay originates in the workforce when employees are a mere fourteen years old and continues to widen with age (Besen 4). Most critics

“The wage gap has narrowed by more than one-third since 1960”(Hegewisch, 2010) and “the share of companies with female CEOs increased more than six-fold” (Warner, 2014) since 1997. As well as the truth that men and women’s earnings differ for many other reasons besides the presence of sexism. “Discrimination in labor market, in education/retiring programs, unequal societal norms at home and the constrained decisions men and women make about work and home issues” (Hegewisch, 2010) are also factors that can contribute to the unequal treatment of man and women in the workplace. Yet even with most of these variables removed women are still being paid less than men, sexually harassed in the workplace and hold very little managerial positions.

However, in the article “Why Women Don’t Need to Earn the Same as Men” by Timmy Kennedy, he argues that extreme focus on closing the gender pay gap can create gender inequality in the workplace, and rather, true pay equality can be achieved through paying the individual with the most skills for a job the highest wage, without taking gender into consideration. If companies around the United States hire and pay workers based on their skills and qualifications, the idea of gender inequality and the wage gap within the workforce will disappear

For every dollar men make, women make around 80 cents. This ratio is also called the gender wage gap. Women in countries around the world continue to earn less than men for the same job. Looking at the gap optimistically, there has been a decline as of fairly recently. There are many ideas as to why this gap exists, and why it is on a decline. Moreover, there are multiple proposals as to how to further decrease the gap and eliminate the reasons for it. Overall, different perspectives and representations of the gender wage gap are portrayed in numerous popular sources and academic articles.