Bridging the Gap for Women’s Wages
“Somehow, the unsexy issue of the paycheck—equal pay for the same or equivalent work—dropped off the economic agenda. But it never left the minds of women” (41). In her article entitled “A New Campaign for Pay Equity,” liberal columnist Ellen Goodman outlines the problem concerning the wage gap between men and women. By describing the present position of the wage gap, Goodman points out that there are things being done by the government for the wage gap, which include enforcing the laws that are in existence and suggesting that jobs of equal value be paid equal wages. Goodman then states that, even though laws are in place and goals have been announced, there is still a considerable slack in the government's progress. She holds that the laws are not being enforced as well as they could be and that society needs to transform the way it views the value of women's work, or just work in general. "Underlying the new campaign for pay equity," Goodman emphasizes, "are attitudes that are changing faster than wages" (41). Here, she suggests that people are beginning to ponder why women's wages are lower. Goodman explains that in order for the issue to be solved, the changes will have to begin on a state level and move up to the national level as momentum and support are gained. Goodman concludes with an astounding statistic: Because of the gender gap, women's families lose $200 billion each year. This statistic helps Goodman enforce the idea that although there are improvements afoot, "[. . .] half a cent a year just won't cut it.”
I can honestly say that the first time or two I read the essay, I found it hard to formulate an opinion on the topic covered. At first, I thought that maybe Goodman was victimizing women and just complaining. But the more the class delved into the topic, the more I saw that it was truly a problem in our society. My mother has worked in the same printing factory for more than twenty years. She started at the age of eighteen, at the lowest position possible and has worked her way up to becoming the second-most powerful person in the plant. Her title is Production Supervisor and she is the only woman supervisor in the company. In fact, there are only a small number of women that are not working as temporary employees in her company.
In conclusion, if women are brave enough to destroy their own barriers and are with people that really help them, women can attain successful in the workplace; moreover, they will see less sexism in their workplace. In the past, women fought for the right to vote, and they fought for civil rights. Now, women and other people can fight to eliminate discrimination against women in the workplace. The United States fought for the right to eliminate discrimination many times such as after the Civil War and the World War II, and now as a country people have to fight to eliminate the discrimination against women in order to be called “The country of Freedom and Civil Rights.”
In “Exploiting the Gender Gap” Warren Farrell argues that the issue of disparity between men and women’s wages does not exist. Farrell provides multiple statistics and research that contradict the ever prominent “fact” put out by the media that women are paid less than men. He then covers a range of personal examples that strengthen his argument. He, subsequently, moves beyond the simplicity of wage disparity and brings the focus of his attention to the focus on discrimination.
The reality of wage differences between men and women is that above all changes women continue to earn less than men. Countless arguments have promoted that wage inequality has changed and that everyone finally receives an equal amount of pay. “For women of color, the gap is largest of all: In 2006, black and Hispanic women earned 86 and 87 cents on the white man’s dollar, respectively,” (Mcswane 2). If a woman is lucky enough she will get an equal pay compared to a man doing the same job. But it is challenging for a woman of a minority background to achieve this. Not only are women paid less because of their sex, but also because of their race. There seems to be a mentality that because someone is a woman and a minority that they cannot do the same job as men or that women do not have the same education as the men, so employers do not have to pay them the same. “When the numbers are broken down by district, they 're pretty hard to ignore. Women in Texas are being utterly screwed financially, according to the data compiled by AAWU, with women earning anywhere from 66 percent of what men do in some districts, to the top end of things, which is about 89 percent,” (Leicht 4). The proof cannot be ignored. It i...
Under the Equal Pay Act of 1863, the gender wage gap supposedly no longer exists, but the facts are that “as of 2012 women in the U.S. earn 77 cents to a man's dollar” (ProQuest Staff). Men try to justify this unjust statistic by saying that “wage gap isn't necessarily the result of discrimination” (ProQuest Staff). Although, there is no logical reasoning behind it. When women are actually given the same jobs as men they may be paid the same but typically, they are not able to reach the higher positions in the company that men do. Even with their 77 cents to a man’s dollar, “women still tend to bear a larger responsibility for child care and other household matters within families” (Mazorelle). Women are not given the opportunity to earn as much as men and then they still have to take on a majority of the responsib...
Additionally, we believed men deserved to have higher power by getting more money than women. After some research, we think it’s not fair that women make less than men who have the same education and the same job. In the long run, it can make it hard for women to support their families. We found out that the gender pay gap is a “complex issue with many causes”, which are often inter-related. It seems that the direct cause of this issue is discrimination. We also found out that inequality starts early; just one year out of college, college-educated women working full-time earned $32,000 compared to $42,000 for college-educated men working
Creating the idea that if this gap continues to remain constant, or even worse grow, woman will never be able to reach equal pay. A podcast, How the Gender Pay Gap Works, presents us with a critical study done in 2011 in which shows a twenty five year old white woman compared to a twenty five year old white male. In this study both twenty five year olds contained the same qualifications and job title, yet the woman made a significant five thousand dollars less a year. Essentially this means that by the time she makes it to sixty five she will have lost out on four hundred thirty thousand dollars. This outstanding number shines light on the existing problem with women being mistreated and paid in the workforce. Additionally, a woman would have to work a year more to make the same amount of money that a man made the previous year (How the Gender Pay Gap
Women have consistently received less pay than their male coworkers for the same work. the statistics released by the International Labor Organization reveal the obviously lower pay wages women receive. On average, a single women household earns around $27,000 with forty-three percent of that income coming from the government’s aid. In 2009 women made up only twenty-four percent of CEOs in the United States. Single mothers simply do not make enough money to provide a good life for their family, while living well within the poverty standard. ILO also released the world average difference in pay gap from women to men is seventeen percent. This is why Third Wave feminism can be labeled as radical in their fight for equality. To challenge todays social norms and challenge such a big gap, many would scoff. Cynthia, an active feminist in the work place, reports that “following the significant progress toward closing the gender wage gap during the 1980s and 1990s, the last decade has seen no further improvement.” No progress is being made and single working mothers are being paid less then men for the same work. Despite this injustice, progress is being made, Cynthia explains that the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009” allows workers to legally discuss work wages and allow women to report unfair or unequal wages (7). This is a step to gender equality and a creating a hopeful future for women. Despite
The article The Gender Gap in Wages insights the issue about the wage gap in the early 21st century, observing that is not actual discrimination in the workplace, but rather the type of work and time put into it that changes the wages between male and female workers. June O’Neill gives sufficient statistical data that is focused on work experience and how productivity in the home is a result of the wage gap. Her claim introduces a great amount of statistical data that shows the reader the reasons for a wage gap to exist. She is knowledgeable about the subject and is straight-forward about her point. O’ Neill’s argument is justifiable meanwhile, it can be argued that her neutrality on the wage gap does not give a specific reason as to how this
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). The gender wage gap not only harms a woman’s ability to provide for herself, it also harms many children and families. Women are now the primary caregivers
For several decades, most American women occupied a supportive, home oriented role within society, outside of the workplace. However, as the mid-twentieth century approached a gender role paradigm occurred. The sequence of the departure of men for war, the need to fill employment for a growing economy, a handful of critical legal cases, the Black Civil Rights movement seen and heard around the nation, all greatly influenced and demanded social change for human and women’s rights. This momentous period began a social movement known as feminism and introduced a coin phrase known in and outside of the workplace as the “wage-gap.”
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.
It is very important to be concerned about 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 make 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).
For many decades, women have faced inequalities in the workforce. At one point, they were not allowed to work at all. Although women's rights have improved and are now able to work alongside men, they are still treated unfairly. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, women’s earnings were “76.5 percent of men’s” (1). In 2012, men, on average, earned $47,398 and women earned only $35,791.
Nevertheless, civil rights have come a long way since the year 1940 with women’s equality reaching an all-time high, evolving immigration rights, marriage equality expanding across the U.S., and economic, social, and educational gaps continuing to close between blacks and whites. When women were granted the right to vote in the year 1920, they weren’t suddenly placed on the same playing field as men. A continuous bombardment of inequality and discrimination batters women, especially in the workplace. Although some progress has been made on closing the gap between men and women’s earnings since the Equal Pay Act’s passage in 1963, women on average still only make 80 cents to every dollar earned by white men. African American women bare the discrimination even more so by being barred by both their gender and their color -- earning nearly 65 cents, still better than Hispanic women who earn 52 cents to their white counterparts.
In today’s society, it is an understatement that women have come a long way from earlier generations in achieving gaining equal rights with men. Gender roles have evolved greatly throughout history; women can even be known as the breadwinners. However, discrepancies still exist when it comes to equal pay for equal work. This issue has the potential to have an impact on all women including myself, as I hope to one day join the workforce and become a financially independent businesswoman. While some argue that the issue is not relevant to today’s society there are still cases where women’s pay does not match up to men for doing the exact same work.