Age, Race And Gender Inequality In The Workplace

The gender wage gap in America is a social problem that has existed since women entered the workforce. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, for every dollar earned by a man, a woman made 78.3 cents in 2013 (Leon-Guerrero, 2016). Data from 1983 to 1998 and concluded that women workers in their prime earning years make 38% of what men make. During the 15-year period, an average prime-age working woman earned only $273,592 compared with $722,693 earned by the average working man in 1999 (Leon-Guerrero, 2016). The wage gap affects women of color in a more profound way that it does non-hispanic white women. Hispanic women are making 53%, African American women are making 64%, and Asian American women are making 87% of white men’s earnings each year (AAUW, 2013).

One claim as to why women make less than men is because very profitable fields such as mathematics and engineering are so occupied by men that women have no opportunity to join. Preconceived notions of what kind of jobs women should traditionally have do impact the decisions women make when choosing their careers. This in turn contributes to the difference in average pay when calculated into the wage gap. The claim that it is unlady like to occupy a career that involves mathematics or science are holding women back from earning the same amount as

The pay gap between men and women has been a pressing issue that is still at the forefront of many political and everyday discussions. Women are currently about half of the U.S. labor force and are increasingly becoming the breadwinners of their families yet some statistics show that they still make about 77% less than men. This number is even lower when it comes to women of color in the workforce (Women’s Bureau U.S. Department of Labor). Although liberals and conservatives agree that there is a difference between what men and women make, their explanations for why this is the case differ tremendously and their approach to a solution differs greatly as well.

The existing research indicates that this particular subject matter became an area of concern in the year 1970. During this time, women earned approximately 83 percent of what the men could earn (Zheng, Hui, & Linda, 2170). The wage gap has detrimental effects on women of all ages, races, and educational levels. However, the gap has been decreasing since 1980 particularly among the young workers (McCall, 89). Researchers have always found it hard to measure the exact gap between gender imbalances in income due to the diversified nature that both genders choose their careers. In fact, some researchers suggest that women tend to choose careers that are less paying than their male counterparts are. Job segregation has been termed as the main cause of the huge gender income gap (Mandel, 122).

In the United States, the income disparity between men and women is often referred to as the “gender wage gap” (Meng, 2004). The U.S. Census Bureau collects data to compare the median wages of males and females. Generally the gender wage gap is expressed as a percentage of male to female earnings of full-time workers. Historically, “female employees earned significantly less than male employees for similar work” (Pagan, 2008).

“Women are almost half of the workforce. They are the equal, if not main, breadwinner in four out of ten families. They receive more college and graduate degrees than men. Yet, on average, women continue to earn considerably less than men. In 2015, female full-time workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent. Women, on average, earn less than men in virtually every single occupation for which there is sufficient earnings data for both men and women to calculate an earnings ratio” (“Pay Equity & Discrimination,” 2015).

The oppression of women through occupationally established sex segregation and the gender wage difference remains an important economic discussion. The overall gender wage gap has fallen significantly since 1890 to its current rate of 21.4%. Women are making great strides increasing their labor market experience and skills. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 58.6% of women make up the labor force, 50.2% have multiple jobs, and 75.4% of single mothers are in the labor force. Today more women are head of households. Despite all the progress a large gender pay gap still exist. This is not simply a result of women’s choices, but structural, economic and social barriers that limit women’s ability to compete resulting in lower pay.

Women are almost half of the workforce. They are the equal, if not main, breadwinner in four out of ten families. They receive more college and graduate degrees than men. Yet, on average, women continue to earn considerably less than men. According to the

Before American women’s’ work history is surveyed, it is first important to address why unequal pay matters to develop a common lens for understanding. As an example, on average, an American, thirty-five year old woman may earn $37k whereas a man of equal age, education, and position will earn $50k. This difference in earnings is $13k. Over the course of one year, the impact on the quality of life (housing options, quality groceries, and access to healthcare) as well as possibilities for advancement (furthering career training, leisure time, and perceived lack of wealth as a handicap) will have a substantial influence on the activities in the workplace. Particularly over the course of time, the oppression of these life differences will take a toll on one’s physical and mental ability.

Although it is nearly 2017, American women still fight to overcome discrimination as generations before them did. Instead of prospering in their careers, women often flounder because they are not being paid the same salary as their male coworkers. The wage gap can vary among different individuals living in the United States. One report by the American Association of University Women proves this point. “In 2013, the average American female worker made 78 cents for every dollar earned by a male” (Lee). Which is not right. How come both genders are doing the same job and only one gender makes more than the other? In order to close the pay gap between the genders, women need to find well-paying jobs and prosper in

To begin with, as we can see from table 8.3 that the percent of people in poverty for 2009 was 14.3% of the population while that only 12.3% of that is white people, 25.8% is black people, and Hispanics are at 25.3%. In table 8.7 it shows the average income

Over the years it has become evident that women face far more significant barriers in the workforce than men do. A clear representation of this barrier is established by the gender pay gap, which is the difference in monetary amount received between a woman 's and a man 's average weekly earnings. The economy, as a social institution, is affected by gender and sex inequality. The idea of inequality in the workplace is central to explaining wage disparities and is a crucial factor that intervenes between a person 's human capital. Despite a woman 's depth of knowledge and commendable work ethic, there still remains significant obstacles to

We’ve been told this lie before, even from the President of the United States. Women earn 77 cents on the dollar compared to men. (Kessler, Glenn) There have been articles, reports, and social media activism promoting equal pay. I’m here to take an unpopular, but necessary, opinion. The wage gap as you know it is a myth. It’s a product of bad statistics and bad economics. The largest factor behind wage inequality, of the sexes, is getting men and women into different occupations without societal judgment. Men are focusing on jobs with higher economic outlook, and women are focusing on jobs that are most beneficial to the community. (Solis, Hilda S, Keith Hall) While there is nothing wrong with that, it does lead to a perceived pay disparity. This issue is fundamentally misleading and economically illogical. It is being posed as unequal work for equal pay, when the reality is that it’s an unequal workforce. It’s been argued by some that the addition of women to certain fields has been known to lower average wages. This may be explained by considering that when you add more supply to an occupation, the demand needs to increase as well or the prices will stagnate or fall. A study would have to control for overall number of occupants in a field relative to its demand to prove this. The purpose of this essay is to explain how you actually determine pay inequality, what it actually is, and what is actually causing the statistics we’re seeing.

For centuries women have faced many hardships in society. A majority of these include various disadvantages they’ve experienced in the workplace for as long as men and women have competed in the labor force. One of the highly debated topics over the past few decades has been the wage gap, and whether it is a myth or a legitimate concern. Many people argue that the gap is caused by the skewing of average male and female salary estimates because of the differences between gender-dominated careers. However, the most important example to use in proving the reality of unequal pay, is that men and women who have the exact same occupation earn different wages. Even when comparing workers “with the same job title at the same company [and] similar education

As the “wage gap” is being discussed more, the question is why do men and women have different wages when they are working the same job. While it seems that men don 't have to take as much time off from work or may work more, we have to look at it from Women’s viewpoints also.