Gender Pay Gap Essay

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Gender discrimination is not a new topic, but it is oftentimes a controversial one. The differing political groups in the United States is a good example of how certain groups of people do not think the issue of a gender pay gap needs to be addressed. People on both sides of the political divide have dodged questions on whether or not the gender pay gap is a real issue and if it should be addressed. While some politicians may be divided, most scholars believe that having a gender gap does hamper the countries economy. For example, closing the gender pay gap in the United States should boost the economy by three to four percentage points (Bassett 2014), as this would introduce a group of people who will have more earning and spending potential …show more content…

These issues are not blatantly propagated by people, but these are considered “nonconscious cognitive processes” (Weichsellbaumer 2005, 327) Normally the gender pay gap is decreased by allowing women into higher education and into more selective universities, (Bobbitt-Zeher 1-2) while also imposing laws that help to generate a societal change in the way that women are viewed. Sometimes that societal change happens because women are allowed to receive an education; and then they are able to implement the change needed. Education (Bobbitt-Zeher 2) seems to be one of the stepping-stones of equality because once women have that they are able to fight for equality by becoming part of the system and attempting to change it. Cuba is a good example of a country that has made an effort to close a gender gap in their society, and they really only succeeded in allowing women into higher education. (Gonzalez) They have implemented laws that prohibit blatant discrimination against women in higher education and in society at large, but these laws were not enacted or pushed by the Cuban women and have not succeeded in erasing the pay gap or changing antiquated views of women’s place in society (Hees 152). The attributed reason for these laws not erasing a gender pay gap is because women were not the ones fighting for it and the stereotypical female household roles are still …show more content…

Culture is a big influencer in how women are perceived in the workplace; generally the cultural stereotype of a woman belonging in the home causes women’s work to be devalued. As previously mentioned in Cuba these gender stereotypes are incredibly prevalent and can explain why women are paid less for the same work. Across the world this mindset prevails, in Korea a study done on laborers showed that even with no difference in education between the sexes, there was still a devaluation of women’s work. “This study indicate that the theories of culturally given gender stereotypes and labor market risk/cost are more likely to explain the remaining gender difference in labor earnings and other employment conditions.” (Lee, Cho, Lee, 2001,

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