Equal Pay Task Force: Gender Discrimination In The Workforce

According to the national Equal Pay Task Force: “The Wage gaps describe the discrepancy between the salary and benefits given to men compared to those given to women for the same level and quality of work.” (“Fifty Years After the Equal Pay Act” 8) When women and men do the same job, their wages are supposed to base on their performances, achievements, education level and working experiences. However, the fact is that gender based wage discrimination is an unconscious phenomenon happens in lots of companies. A female employee has a lower wage even though they do the same jobs and have the same qualifications as a male employee. Being treated equally and fairly is the right of everyone, so women never stop to fight for their basic right and eliminate the wage gaps. The Second World War was a turning point for women workers: “The general belief is that WWII had an important impact on the participation of women in the labor market” (Bellow and Cardia 2). Before the World War II, a woman’s contributions were

After 1963, it was not legal anymore to pay a woman lower wages when they did the same job as men. “The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was the first in a series of major federal and state laws that had a profound effect on job opportunities and earnings for women over the next half century, and laid the foundation for the movement of women into the paid labor force at unprecedented levels” (National Equal Pay Task Force 4). The Equal Pay Act was the first step for women to eliminate wage gaps in the workplace and achieved gender equality in society. The Equal Pay Act required the employers pay female employees the same amount of wages as the male employees as long as the work is substantially the same. From then on, the law protected a woman’s equal economic right to get a fairer wage she deserved and the society started to teat women’s work