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Essay on intersection
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Oppression in the workplace can affect men and women, for the purpose of this paper, the focus will be on women and women who are experiencing intersectionality. Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labor rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap (Williams). The gender pay gap is considered to be a form of oppression and wage discrimination. Gender, race, age, skin color, and other attributes a person carries can contribute to a pay gap. This form of workplace oppression can occur at the micro, meso, and macro level. For the purpose of this paper, the meso and the macro levels will be considered relevant.
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This includes men and women who perform the same job in the same establishment, using equal skills, effort and responsibility (The Equal Pay Act of 1963). While there is a law in place, this does not stop employers from wage discrimination. Typically, employees are not supposed to discuss their pay openly with other employees, discussing pay is usually a terminating offence. This rule leaves the employer with discretion of wages. In jobs where the occupation is a female dominated occupation, such as school teachers, women earn $981, compared to men who earn $1,126. In a male dominated occupation such as software development, men earn $1,863 per week compared to women making $1,553 (Hegewisch, Phil, Williams-Baron). These numbers prove that just because there is a law in place for employers, this does not end the
Throughout the world, discrimination in all forms has continued to be a constant struggle; whether it’s racial, gender based, religion, beliefs, appearance or anything that makes one person different from another, it’s an everyday occurrence. A major place that discrimination is occurring at is in the workplace. One of the largest problems discrimination issues is believed to be gender. Women, who have the same amount of experience as men are not getting paid at the same rate as men, these women also are equally trained and educated. According to the article Gender Pay, it was discovered in 2007 that a woman makes 81 cents for every dollar a man earns.(“Gender Pay”) . This shouldn’t be happening in today’s society for the fact the society lived in today is suppose to be more accepting. Men are viewed as being more popular, valuable and having higher powers than women. The Reason Discrimination is involved in the equal pay equal work is because of the significance it has to how some businesses pay their employees.
Nearly half of the labor force and breadwinners are women. More women are working in career fields and positions traditionally held by men. When women are not paid fairly, not only do they suffer, but so do their families. According to current research, “Despite passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which requires that men and women in the same work place be given equal pay for equal work, the "gender gap" in pay persists. Full-time women workers’ earnings are only about 77 percent of their male counterparts’ earnings. The pay gap is even greater for African-American and Latina women, with African-American women earning 64 cents and Latina women earning 56 cents for every dollar earned by a Caucasian
Thesis: Gender pay gap continues to impact working women in today’s society. Women who have the same education and experience as men deserve to be paid the same. By participating in the organizations to help stop the issue of unequal pay can eventually stop gender discrimination.
Throughout the history of the world, discrimination in all forms has been a constant struggle, whether it is race, gender, religion, appearance or anything else that makes one person different from another, it is happening every day. One significant discrimination problem that is affecting many women takes place in the workplace. As of recently, the gender wage gap has become a major topic for discussion. The gender wage gap is the average difference between men and women's aggregate hourly earnings. Women who are equally trained and educated, and with the same experience, are getting paid way less than men.
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).
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.
As a female, I wouldn’t say that I am oppressed, however, I have experienced some impartial treatment compared my male correspondent. Specifically, at work my workplace, men seem to be preferred for certain positions than me. For example, when applying for a manager position in the shoe department, preference was given to another male with fewer qualifications. I also grew up in a house with all boys, I had to take on the responsibilities that a female would around the house. I had to cook for my brothers, clean up after them and even wash their clothes at times. Other than those instances, being a female does not make me feel oppressive.
The Equal Pay Act (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act), forbids employers to compensate women differently for jobs that are “substantially equal”, that is, almost identical. Traditionally, women have worked in different occupations than men; these occupations tend to be substantially different, pay less and confer less authority.
The gender pay gap, which affects half of the United States population, is an issue that many people have assumed has since been resolved. On the contrary, although it has been narrowing these past few decades, it has not been enough to even come close to resolving this issue. This issue is one of the foremost examples of underlying discrimination in the workplace. Even though gender pay inequality is generally associated primarily with corporate America,
Since the beginning of our cognitive lives, we as humans, our conditioned to meet a certain level of goals. While we each have something we dream of becoming we commonly fall short of our goals, due to social oppression. While deep down one believes that they are themselves, each person morphs to the society they are living in. Being raised in Northern Virginia, I have noticed it is in constant chaos with no room to slow down. People are contently on the move to try and better themselves for there jobs or careers. Without realizing it, the city is altering the person. Things such as religion, treating others properly, and seeking love gets pushed aside for the leveling up in ones career. While one is raised to believe and peruse these things
The wage gap has been a national issue in the United states for decades. While it was first officially recognized in the 1960s by the Equal Pay Act, it is still a huge issue today. The Equal pay act of 1963 stated that employers cannot discriminate against employee’s salaries based on gender. Although this act did set the precedent for equal pay, it did not solve the problem completely. Today a woman earns eighty cents for every dollar a man earns, a wage gap of 20% (NWLC, 2017). This gap also increases for women of color. A To every dollar a white man makes, an African American woman makes 63 cents and a Hispanic woman makes 54 cents. This issue is affecting women in 98 percent of professions (NWLC, 2017). Education is not the only solution
Discrimination at work is a touchy issue. Most people, if not all, have experienced some sort or form of it and they ignored it, quit, or got fired from their job. Women tend to be more emotional than men and when women are judged and discriminated they are offended by it immediately. Also, the fact of women getting a lower income than men for the same job is almost unbelievable. It is very important to be concerned on 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 are making 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).
Women’s right to equal pay or gender pay gap has been a subject of discussion over the years in the united states, women perform similar jobs to men, but are paid
Harassment and discrimination claims are due to lack of education about the subject. As an independent human resources consultant, Santiago-Santos will organize a local education campaign and provide employers with different trainings to educate them and their employees about harassment and discrimination. Employers will have a better understanding on how to develop internal policies and procedures to address these claims. Also, trainings will be provided for employees and they will be educated on how to prevent and identify harassment and discrimination as well as what steps to take in order to report such behavior.
One argument concludes that while there may be unequal pay in a said work place, the equal pay has nothing to do with gender. Kate O’Beirne, an author who addresses the feminist movement, says in her novel, “The claim that women face widespread wage discrimination is myth.” Instead, she argues that the idea is simply a tool used to boost the movement for feminists. She argues that since the Equal Pay Act of 1963, it is illegal for any businesses to not equally pay their women workers to their men workers if they are doing the same work. While this might be a valid point, it does not mean that businesses will not break the law to take the cheaper route. It was found in 2014 that women that were working full time were paid 79 percent of what men earned. The gender gap has progressed since the 1970s but has since slowed down. Progression does not mean resolution; the gap has not completely closed.