Are Women Paid Fairly In The Workplace?

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The question of whether or not gender inequality still exists in today’s workplace has been a frequently asked question among both men and women. This is of great importance because it directly affects all of us since we all have to work and we all desire to be treated equally. In heat of this discussion many are quick to point out the statistic stating that for every dollar a man makes a women makes 80 cents for doing similar jobs. This highlights the overwhelming inequality among today’s society among genders. In jobs with high position of power, the same is true as well since they demonstrate that women aren’t getting the proper representation and treatment since they’re often victims of unfairness and stereotypes. In the top 500 companies …show more content…

In the article Gender Pay Gap: Are Women Paid Fairly in the Workplace?, Thomas J. Billitteri analyzes this supposed wage gap problem among society. According to Billitteri some women consider the wage gap to “an insult to my dignity” and it righteously should be (Billitteri). In the workplace the amount of value and respect a employer have towards someone is usually reflected in their pay check and for that reason women are totally inclined to feel the way they do. Billitteri gave us the marvelous situation of Lilly Ledbetter a former Goodyear tire plant employ for 19 years. Ledbetter claimed to be $500 dollars less per month then the lowest earning male despite the reason she had more years of experience, had similar responsibilities and the man had just begun. This was a clear cut illustration of gender inequality but despite she lost the lawsuit against the company. Although, most cases of gender inequality aren’t as clean cut as Ledbetter there are still quite present and the differential of money can be recognizable over time. According to Billitteri, “Women do not realize the enormous price that they pay for gender wage discrimination because they do not see big bites taken out of their paychecks at any one time” and that occurs for obvious …show more content…

In fact, “Labor Department data show that for 35- to 44-year-olds, the earnings ratio of women to men rose from 58 percent in 1979 to 77 percent in 2006. For 45- to 54-year-olds, it went from 57 percent to 74 percent. Among the youngest workers, ages 16 to 24, only about 5 percentage points separated median weekly wages of men and women in 2006 (Billitteri).” The statistics don’t demonstration but it’s certainly pointing in the right direction. However, we still need to further improve these statistics by completely making the wage gap nonexistent. According to documentary Why Can't a Woman Earn as Much as a Man?, it needs to begin with women. In the documentary they conducted studies that demonstrated the women tend to undervalue themselves, are less likely to ask for a raise or aren’t confident enough to ask for a high wage even though they may manifest amazing qualities. Another way this wage gap can be eliminated is by simply creating laws that requires employers to show the average pay for both males and females. This would help both females and males get an equal pay without making one seem to demanding or lower the chance of getting a job. However, it’s important to note that the gender wages difference may also be due to an aspect mentioned in the documentary Why Can't a Woman Earn as Much as a Man?, they explained that a women’s may be tampered

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