Evaluate the view that wage differentials are only a reflection of differences in the marginal productivity of workers. Wage differentials are the different rates of pay for the same general type of work, due to a variety of reasons such as differences in performance. Marginal productivity is the difference in how much a worker produces compared to another. There are many reasons for the difference in wages within an industry such as the amount of risk involved, the amount of human capital the individual has and the differences in productivity and amount contributed to the firm. These are just three of many reasons for differences in wages rather than just marginal productivity. There are also external reasons for wage differences that may have nothing to do with individual’s …show more content…
The idea is that those who have invested money into their education and acquiring skills should be rewarded. However, this doesn’t create a bid difference in wages, as it would be discriminating to those who could possibly not afford it. However, this is a very tame example of discrimination. Most cases of discrimination deal with gender or ethnicity. Even though it is hard to prove racism and sexism, there have been several cases where women or ethnic minorities have claimed that they are being paid less and treated worse that their ‘normal’ counterparts. Even though some would say that it is a very sceptical standing point, some claims have been backed up in court settlements. In the case of gender pay gap, people would argue that there are a variety of factors explaining the reasons for the difference in wage such as part-time working, geographical mobility and less human capital. However, you cannot dismiss the evidence that women and ethnic minorities do earn less money on average then the male majority so it cannot be dismissed as a factor affecting wage
Mandelbaum, Robb, “There is a Salary Gap when pay themselves”. New York Times. Ed. Abramson Jill, Pub: New York City, February 18, 2014
The wage gap is a major issue that is constantly brought up in the work place. Numerous people use the term “wage gap” to state how gender can affect somebody 's income. There has always been an understanding that men typically made more money than women. For a long time, women were not allowed to work; therefore men were in charge of “bringing home the bacon”. However, times have changed and there are various situations where a household is centered off a women’s’ income. Females can become single mothers who have a responsibility to care for a child(s). Responsibilities can include monthly payments of water and electric bills and even weekly payments towards groceries. Women have to acquire enough money so that they are able
America is the country of equal opportunities, however, women suffer from wage discrimination. Women earn seventy-seven cents for every dollar that a man makes. This is read everywhere, but there is more to it. Inequality and discrimination have been declared illegal since 1964 (Gibelman 24). So, why are women affected by the wage gap when discrimination is illegal? The answers vary, but it depends on job positions, the time spent, and the performance of the workers. I read multiple academic journals in order to come up with reasons for the wage gap. The wage gap is a huge topic because people need to understand how far it goes. Furthermore, when most people pay attention to pay inequality in the United
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
Because of the industrialization of the countries, the replacement of manual labor with the use of machinery and the division of labor, the work of the proletarian has become homogeneous. It does not contain the individuality or charm of the laborer as handmade goods do. The worker instead becomes part of the machine and is reduced to performing menial, repetitive tasks. Thus, the workman's pay rate reflects his work, and is reduced to the minimum amount needed to barely sustain them. Therefore, as the skill needed to perform the job is reduced, so does the amount of the wages.
In many nations, the relationship between labor and production has often been a tense one. On one side of the equation, businesses have insisted on greater productivity at lower costs. On the other side, labor (most often in the form of labor unions) has insisted that increased productivity can be best be achieved if the workers have a reasonable “living” wage and job security (Howard 2002).
Employees often overestimate their coworkers’ pay when it is kept a secret. This leads to overall lower job satisfaction, which in turn hurts workplace productivity. In general, employees work more productively when pay structures are transparent and predictable (Chamberlain para 5). If employees become aware of the wages their associates earn, they will know where they stand in their company, and they will feel happier. This will lead to increased workplace efficiency and will help businesses in the United States increase their profits. Additionally, pay transparency has already helped lower the wage gap in several countries. Britain, Austria, and Belgium have all signed laws requiring employees working in the countries to report their wages. These legislations provided the pressure needed to force companies to increase working women’s wages (Lipman para. 5). PricewaterhouseCoopers, a multinational professional services network, released its British employees’ wages to the public in 2013. The report shows a clear separation between the wages that male and female workers in the company earned that year. Since then, the business has proceeded to work on lowering their gender wage gap, and their pay discrepancy has significantly decreased (Lipman para. 6). A pay transparency law has already succeeded in lowering the wage
With a record 64 million women in the workforce, pay discrimination hurts the majority of American families. Families lose $200 billion in income annually to the wage gap—an average loss of more than $4,000 for each working family. In addition, wage discrimination lowers total lifetime earnings, thereby reducing women’s benefits from Social Security and pension plans.
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.
A number of factors have contributed to the gap between men’s and women’s wages. These include: occupational segregation of women into low paying jobs; lower levels of unionization for women and attitudinal barriers that have kept women from achieving equality in the workplace and undervaluation for women’s work.
For many years in United States, equal salary pay for women has been a major issue that women have been fighting for decades. This began back in World War II, when the National Labor Board urged equalize the salary rates for women with the same rates that males were getting of the same professions. (Rowen) Although, traditionally most women do not work to provide for there family and there are not so many independent women during World War II. After World War II more women lost their jobs to veterans returning to the workforce. Women in the workforce after the war have been discriminated ever since. The idea of women as weak and cannot perform there jobs
I understand that the lack of women taking a role as a leader in a company does not apply as a good example speaking that it is gender inequality but based on the ability of the person of taking the job. But on the other hand, there is no reason that could explain why women are getting less pay than men when they both are working for the same job.Which also mean that there is no rejection stating that there is gender inequality when it comes together speaking of the wage gap between men and women. Restating the argument that was made earlier, women earn 77 percent of what men earn for the same job. In this case, it explains that gender inequality is still occurring around us. It clearly demonstrates that men and women are getting treated differently. If both men and women are taking the same job and working at the same hour and having the same experience. What makes that women should take a lower pay than men when women are also giving all those hard work in the same job? The only answer to that question is that there is gender inequality. There are also other examples of gender inequality that occur around the world. For instance, in Saudi Arabia there is limited mobility for women. Where women have no right to drive a car or ride a bicycle on public roads. Also in Chile and Lesotho, women lack the right to own land. All deeds must include the name of a man, the husband or father, and if one of those man die,
Inequality is on the rise due to CEOs earning 183 times more than a typical UK worker (Settle, 2015). A maximum wage is a legal limit on the income an individual can earn. It is of relevance due to the rising inequality caused by salaries significantly higher than the minimum wage being paid (Simms, 2003). This essay will consider the advantages and disadvantages of a maximum wage policy and suggest why one should be introduced.
Are you aware that in 2015, women who were working full time in the United States were only paid 80 percent of what men were paid, at a 20 percent gap? This number is only up a measly one percentage from 2014, and the change isn’t of any major significance. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the earnings ratio hasn’t had significant annual change since 2007. This gender wage gap has only narrowed since the 1970s and due largely to women’s progress in education and workforce participation and to men’s wages rising at a slower rate. Still, the pay gap does not appear likely to go away on its own. At the rate of change between 1960 and 2015, women are expected to reach pay equity with men in 2059. But even that slow progress has stalled in recent years. These
Today in the United States, men make more than women in various sectors, including education and other trades favoring women workers. The gap gets bigger when comparing the wages earned by men to those of women in jobs favoring men workers such as construction or other physically demanding jobs. Women are less likely to work those jobs, therefor; men have the advantage of having more experience and get paid better. In addition, employers would rather hire a man instead of a woman because they believe that a man will be able to sustain the difficulty of the job and work longer hours which crate a disadvantage for women because they are unable to gain experience and become skilled in that certain field. Gender pay gap based on this information is explained as the result of the discrimination of employers toward the feminine sex in terms of pay, which discourage them to work certain jobs leading to create a bigger gap due to the lack of