Comparable Worth : Theories And Evidence Essay

According to statistics, there are disparities with pay in the workplace. Men are paid more in wages, comprehensive packages, and benefits than women who performed the same job responsibilities and roles in the workplace. The big question is why are women being unvalued? Since, this is a common practice in the workplace, is this fair to both genders and is this the most favorable outcome for the greatest number affected by this business practice? The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed to eliminate this type of discrimination based on sex with paying wages to employees, in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which pays, wages to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions.

To this day, women get paid less due to the motherhood penalty, educational opportunities, women’s roles in the society historically, choice of job, and more. All of these components affect women’s wages and the superiority of men in the labor force. One side of the argument states that women rightfully deserve the downside of this wage gap, and others posses the opinion that all workers should be treated equally. Historically, gender roles have gotten in the way of equality in pay. However, people also believe that women choose jobs that do not offer an abundance of pay. Factors such as the motherhood penalty have skewed the pay gap as well. While some people believe that women should be treated equally regarding pay, since they are doing

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.

Wage discrimination is embedded in our legal system. The ongoing battle for equal pay for women dates back to the Civil War. Throughout history, men seemed as the ideal-type of employers. Men were primary the breadwinners, and women who worked at the time only pinch in money oppose to having a stable salary equivalent to their male counterparts. The job roles such as nurses, teacher, and retail sales clerk became a “traditional female” occupations. In “Here’s the History of the Battle for Equal Pay for American Women,” Charlotte Alter points out a letter sent to the editor of the New York Times on February 1869. In this letter, the writer questioned why female government officials did not have similar pay to their male colleagues: ‘Very few persons deny the justice of the principle that equal work should command equal pay without regard to the sex of the laborer.’ Even in the late 19th century in which men had far more opportunities than women, people question the inequality in regards of the workplace. The

Women nowadays have opportunities that were not obtainable in past decades but must overcome, or in most cases overlook, the barrier of being punished in the long run for simply being a woman; “gender differences in starting salaries are a significant contributor to long-term earning differentials between men and women” (Bowels and Babcock). It seems to me that in the workforce, a woman is a person just as a man is a person, if that person gets the job done right, he or she should be paid for doing so, if not, that person receives repercussions. The influence of gender on this issue is very curious as to why it is even a factor in the first place.According to “melanievarnell.wordpress.com” Doing research on the equal work equal pay topic has aroused many questions and proposed solutions, but the lingering query is why employers are still enabling this workplace behavior and discrimination in the 21st century. An article titled, “Equal Work for Equal Pay”: Not Even College Helps Women, was written by “Korva Coleman”; who claims that women are worth less than men when entering the workforce after completing a college degree. Throughout the article, Coleman supports her claim using different studies’ results that “show when men and women attend the same kind of college, pick the same major and accept the same kind of job, on average, the woman will still earn 82 cents to every dollar

The issue of gender inequality in the workplace affects many. The issue of discrimination in wages has been an issue since women were allowed to hold a job and has continued, and possibly progressively gotten better, but it has also gotten progressively worse as it is easier to hide this

The article “The Simple Truth About the Gender Wage Gap,” Kevin Miller describes this issue by providing evidence and statistics that men get paid more than women, despite similarities in education and ethnicity, emphasizing that the difference in gender causes the difference in pay. In fact, Miller declares, “The gap has narrowed since the 1970s, 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.” Therefore, since the early 1900’s, women advanced, further closing the pay gap between men and women. Women now have careers and become educated rather than become bound to their roles as a possession of their husbands and mothers to their children. Although the gap does not seem to completely close soon, the clear improvement of women in society suggests that women’s oppression decreased over time. However, the wage gap is not the only issue regarding women’s

Comparable worth is often explained as a solution to remedy underpaid women or minorities. It is also referred to as “pay equity” or “sex equity”. Unlike the Equal Pay Act, comparable worth policy does not eliminate the different payment gap between women and men doing the same lines of work. Instead, it focuses on the problems of unequal payment in different but comparable work between them. In the past, women worked in positions that has a high level of skill requirement, such as nurses, child care workers, or secretaries, were generally paid less than men that worked in a comparable field of work. One good example would be child care workers, which usually consists of women workers, but has never been one of a higher

Although workplace equality usually doesn’t dominate the headline, recently debate resurfaced regarding the gender pay gap which has been drawing attention.

For many years now it has been assumed that men are paid more than women are paid in many occupations in many countries. We often question, why there is a pay gap between men and women especially if they are performing the same job? Economist Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn took a set of human capital variables such as education, labor market, experience, and race into account and additionally controlled for occupation, industry, and unionism. While the gender wage gap was considerably smaller when all variables were taken into account, a substantial portion of the pay gap remained unexplained. These unexplained gaps are evidence of discrimination, which remains a serious problem for women in the workforce. In a standpoint refusing discrimination,

There has been a major development in women’s equal rights since the Equality Act 2010 was introduced that includes gender equality as one of the strands which states people under this act cannot discriminate or harass and victimise another individual( Ref). The gender pay gap between men and women has been on debate for many years. This essay will examine whether or not in this modern day society their still remain gender inequalities through the use of relevant theories this essay is determined to establish whether these inequalities still exist in employment by exploring social, biological and cultural explanations and differences between men and women. Why women are more likely to be discriminated and oppressed and how I can use this awareness to challenge and address gender inequalities in employment.

Women remain at an economic disadvantage compared to men due to the fact that some occupations still pay women less than their male counterparts. This unequal pay reinforces the thinking that it is okay for men to make more than women just because of their gender. This is an obstacle within the workplace which prevents a woman from advancing her career and allows for higher positions to continue consisting almost entirely of men. Present day in the labour market, “Canadian women earn 23% less than men regardless of their age, education or occupation” (Struman, 2015). Even though women have been quite successful in seeking employment and many possess a decent education, women continue to face a difference in pay because of their gender. In order to be seen as equals women need to be earning the same amount as their male coworkers because they possess the necessary skills needed to complete the job. Differences in pay should be based on an individual’s qualifications and job experience not their gender. The difference in pay prevents women from achieving success and reinforces the point that women remain at an economic disadvantage. Gender based pay is problematic and “[t]he Canadian gender pay gap is the fifth largest among the 34 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries… [and] the pay gap is particularly pronounced for single mothers, racialized women, First Nations women, and women with disabilities” (Struman, 2015). Gender

Jobs are judged similar, thus comparable, based on composite ratings of requirements such as skill, effort, responsibility, or other factors valued by an organization. All in all, comparable worth is necessary because discriminatory pay practices of the past were not fully addressed by equal employment opportunity legislation, and thus effects have been perpetuated by conventional pay administration practices (Taylor, 1989). Comparable worth rests on the theory that pay differentials are caused by sex discrimination. It proposes that sexual segregation in jobs has unjustly depressed women workers' wages. According to Wittig (1989), we may look at how this segregation has contributed to the wage gap from two viewpoints. Firstly, a significant portion of the sex pay gap has undoubtedly been caused by job placement discrimination, which has placed women into less skilled, less demanding jobs. Secondly, the gap may be caused by "female" jobs being assigned lower pay, even when the jobs require skill equal to that in "male" jobs. There are several ways that this discrimination may be sustained: 1) job segregation related to prejudice by employers, consumers, and co-workers; 2) devaluation of jobs performed primarily by women and minority men; and 3) women and minority men's job choices, assertiveness about pay, and other group tendencies (Wittig, 1989). So, how does one go about achieving comparable worth in their organization, you may bee wondering? First, a method must be

In conclusion it has been proven that inequality still exists within companies. If women want to be paid based off their skills and not their gender, they need to become aware of the fact that this problem is still around and fight to get rid of it. Carol Hymowitz’s article reflects on the need to make a change in businesses around the world to offer diversity and equality. The change has to start with women coming together and taking a stand against discrimination. With constant change and growth within our country, there is no reason

This solution is reinforced with study results that exhibit only 7% of women asking for a higher salary while 57% of men negotiate for higher pay. Because of this a man and woman will start out at different salaries that will widen as they get a consistent raise per year and end up making a substantial salary difference by retirement. Again, it is admitted that there are some limitations to the courses of action, and the article concludes by highlighting that the main resolution to this is legislation that makes equal pay required for jobs of comparable worth. I will use this source to explore plausible ways to close the gender pay gap and discuss benefits and issues with the specific