Gender Pay Gap Essay

CONCLUSION

The gender wage gap is real—and hurts women across the board. Too often it is assumed that this gap is not evidence of discrimination, but is instead a statistical artifact of failing to adjust for factors that could drive earnings differences between men and women. However, these factors—particularly occupational differences between women and men—are themselves affected by gender bias. Serious attempts to understand the gender wage gap should not include shifting the blame to women for not earning more. Rather, these attempts should examine where our economy provides unequal opportunities for women at every point of their education, training, and career choice.The gender gap is a difference in outcomes that men and women achieve

In which case, the solution is two-fold: equalize parenting responsibilities, and introduce more flexibility into traditionally male workplaces. There is, after all, scant evidence that macho working hours and styles have served very well.

So far, progress on gender pay equity has been driven by a combination of legislative action and shifting social norms on equal pay for equal work. Future advances are likely to require a fundamental rethinking of gender roles in relation to both paid and unpaid work—and as much for men as for women.

LIMITATIONS

Forty years after the first equal pay legislation, women can still expect to be paid less than men. The law has made a big difference - the gap between men and women’s wages has declined over the years. However, it still remains very difficult for women to gain equal pay. A woman has to first find out that she is being paid less than a man in a comparable job - people are often secretive about how much they are paid. It also takes a lot of money and time to bring a case against an employer who will have far more resources than an individual employee. Where women are members of trade unions, they have been helped by their union to take their case to the employment