A Feminist Perspective On Women

Simultaneously, the gender pay gap has financial effects not just on the women, yet their families too. Studies have shown that American families with children count on a women’s earnings as a massive part of their family’s income, and many are the head of the household. Data demonstrates that “seventy percent of mothers with children under 18 participate in the labor force, with over 75 percent employed full-time. Mothers are the primary or sole earners for 40 percent of households with children under 18 today, compared with 11 percent in 1960. Women’s participation in the U.S. labor force has climbed since WWII: from 32.7 percent in 1948 to 56.8 percent in 2016” (Dewolf). Now women make up more than half of the U.S. workforce, the gap in earning deciphers to $7968 per year in median earnings for a high school graduate, $11,616 for a college graduate, and $19,360 for a professional school graduate. By and large, this gap effects hundreds of millions of women and their families, and lag them back hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout their life.

During the 1960’s, women represented about forty percent of America’s labor force. Women have typically received a median average wage three-fifths that of a male’s earnings. In the 1960’s, people justified paying women a lower wage using the excuse that a male’s societal role, as the main breadwinner, entitled him to a higher pay than a woman. Even if a woman and a man were performing the same job, a man would get paid higher simply because of his gender. Women began to realize the wage gender inequality, and began fighting for equal rights.

For the first time in history women had surpassed men in the paid labor force. Yet, instead of provoking an equality among the sexes, the figures play no statistical significance, as women still try to bridge the gap between their inequality among their male counterparts. One apparent setback for women in the workplace is their unequal payment, “Women workers are still paid less than men, currently about-three quarters of mens income if they work full time and year round”(Institute for Womens’s Policy Research, 2010). Although there women are beginning to integrate into vastly male populated jobs throughout the labor force “… women in America today earn 78 cents to a man’s dollar, according to the U.S Census Bureau, and have struggled for decades to achieve pay for equal work” (Riley 2). Not only has this pay gap significantly effected the nature of women throughout the county, it has also violated the bill that Congress passed called the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The Equal Pay Act was signed in order to establish a more sound and equal treatment among the sexes. It noted that an employer was unable to discriminate employees on grounds of gender, yet as figures denote today, this bill seems to not possess enough jurisdiction over the wage gap. The wage gap has contributed to various problems within the United States, especially among single mothers who do not have a supporting male figure within their household.

The gender wage gap in the U.S. has been a topic of debate in politics through most of the 21st century. In 2015, women were paid 80 percent of what men were paid (SIMPLE TRUTH). This number is considerably smaller than that of the 1960’s because of women’s progress in education and participation in the workforce (SIMPLE TRUTH). The wage gap can have adverse lifelong effects on a woman’s life. Because women are paid less than men, a woman will receive less social security, pensions, and other resources when they retire than a man would (Fischer & Hayes, 2013). There is a common stigma that women do not get paid as much as men because they do not ask for higher wages but not everything can be “explained

Did you know that the wage gap is affected by more than just wages? Until the Enlightenment of Europe in the 1400s, women were viewed as less than men. They were not expected to work or be in any leadership positions. Now, the modern feminist movement is gaining momentum in raising the equality of women by increasing access to information about inequalities women face and hosting protests. Despite their success, women still face inequalities, especially in the work force. Women’s lack of access to equal employment opportunities leads to a wage disparity, for which political solutions have been implemented without success.

Half of the whole workforce in the United States is made up of women, yet their average pay is more than twenty percent less than a male counterpart (“Pay”)(Claire). If they do ask for a raise, many employers deem them as untrustworthy though many men are more respected. (Claire). Women in the United States make only seventy-eight cents to every man’s dollar (“Pay”). Yet, 49,000,000 children in the U.S. today rely on a female to provide them with food, clothing, and other necessities (“Did”). Women being paid less is caused because of sexism, the history of our nation, and small details that employers find relevant enough to lower a woman’s pay.

No matter your gender, profession or where you live, you are affected by the gender pay gap. Gender inequality refers to the unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. (NYC Gender, 1). According to the report prepared by the Joint Economic Committee in April 2016, “The ratio of women’s to men’s median earnings – known as the “gender earnings ratio” is approximately 79 percent. That leaves a difference in earnings of 21 percent (or 21 cents on the dollar). This means that the typical woman earns less than $4 for every $5 earned by the typical man.” (Gender Pay, 2). The Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal to pay a woman less that what a man would receive for the job. (Civil Rights, 1). However, we live in a world where women are still discriminated against and often paid less than men for performing the same job. As more and more women are taking on the role of “breadwinner”, the gender pay gap is an issue that needs to be resolved immediately.

Unfortunately, it has been proven through a multitude of research that the average female makes about 79% of the amount that their male counterpart would make. Even after achieving the victory of making jobs for women a norm, women still struggle with the male advantage. As Susan B. Anthony continued in Suffrage and the Working Woman, “When she has attained ability to compete with them and to do just as well in every respect she is placed at work, if at all, on half pay” (Anthony). Although some argue that the gender pay gap is nothing but a myth, the statistical facts show otherwise. While those in positions of power and privilege attempt to thrust this issue out of the picture, it remains a large problem that no woman should be unaware of. Unequal pay is a common issue for plenty of women for far too long, and must be

A topic that is often debated is whether there is a difference in pay for women doing comparable work with men. It is a fact that women on average make 78 percent of what a man makes while doing almost the same work. The first article discussed delivers evidence that wage disparity does in fact exist by using a first hand account of a woman directly affected by the wage gap’s injustice and correct statistics that are not outdated. The second source does not focus on one type of job, level of education, or length at the workplace that a woman may work in, instead this article attacks women for wanting to spend time with their families and not constantly work.

Created and perpetuated in part by patriarchal religions and capitalism, the American workplace exemplifies sexism in modern society, contributing to the continuation of women being viewed as subordinate to men (Albee and Perry 145). In 2013, American women earned 82 cents to every dollar that men earned, a discrepancy known as the gender wage gap, and that gap widens for working mothers in the United States. Though mothers comprise a larger percentage of the workforce than do fathers, they loose $141 each week compared to fathers’ average earnings, increasing the yearly wage gap from 12 percent on average to 25 percent for working mothers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). A study conducted by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research used data spanning the 15 years between 1983 and 1998 to conclude that women earned 38 cents to every dollar earned by a man, demonstrating the costs over time of the unequal distribution of family responsibilities (English and Hegewisch 1). On average, women earned $237,592 compared to the men’s average of $722,693 over the 15-year period (2). Despite evidence that approximately half of the gender wage gap can be attributed to normal economic wage fluctuations, an argument often used by those who claim the gap does not exist, sexism has been shown to contribute to the other half (TD Economics 1).

Feminism is the approach to gender roles, race, and inequality in women. It also refers to individuals or organizations that promote changes to society to end the issues involving women. Feminism addresses economic, social, political and cultural differences of power and rights. Sexism plays a huge role in feminism. Generally, people are inferior if they are identified as a black woman and those identified as white women are superior and experience more advantages. Society has formed a culture where white women are treated differently than women of any other race, mainly black women, which makes a black woman seem to be “less than” a white woman. Many people believe that it is just “the way that it is supposed to be”, but every women

A commonly debated topic is whether or not further work is required to ensure women’s rights. Despite of the increasing opportunities, women still have along ways to go before they have the same options as men do. A statistic from WIC says, “Women constituted more than 45 percent of employed persons in the United States in 1989, but they had only a small share of the decision-making jobs" (WIC 2). As women continue to fight for jobs they impact the world as they go. Another issue is the pay gap between the sexes. The US Census Bureau published their findings, “Women working full time made 78.6 percent as much as men did in 2014” but the gap was even bigger for minority women; African American women made sixty-four cents and Latina women made

The workforce is constantly inclining in it’s participation of women, and thus, affects the way the United States economy is displayed. In other words, women have a perpetually strong contribution to the economy. Taking this into account, sources from the “National Partnership for women and Families”, a nonprofit organization that concern policies and education that focus on women and families, confer facts for the wage gap concerning women. The organization reports that, “On average, women employed full time in the United States lose a combined total of more than $840 billion every year due to the wage gap” (“NPWF”). Nationally putting everything together and applying it to a single woman that is being affected, there is an “ annual gender

Feminism is the belief that people of all different backgrounds should be treated justly and fairly. Feminists believe that all people deserve equal pay to those in the same job. Otherwise put, “Feminism is an interdisciplinary approach to issues of equality and equity based on gender, gender expression, gender identity, sex, and sexuality as understood through social theories and political activism.” (EKU “What is Feminism?”) Such as, if a man in the same job doing the same things as a woman in that same job, they should be treated as equals. They should both earn the same amount of money for the job that they do. However, the wage gap is pushing this away from well-working women. If a man earns one dollar, a woman today earns just seventy-nine cents. This is unacceptable in many ways. Women are no different from men. They both can be hardworking and loyal employees. Sexism in the workplace is pushing single mothers and women back farther to being able to support themselves and support their families.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, feminism consists of “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes”. The feminist movement emerged during the eighteenth- and nineteenth-centuries, when philosophers began to question the perception of women in society and the moral differences between the sexes (Tong and Williams). A demand for equality was explored, vindicated and raised to the authorities by early feminists, like Mary Wollstonecraft (Tong and Williams). Equality represents a fundamental issue that is still debated. By exploring the roots of the western culture regarding equality between the sexes, one may acknowledge the whole progress in pursuing justice, resulting from the fight of many generations.