Equal Pay In South African Americans

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).

Errin Haines Whack notes in an article published in the Associated Press that there is more than just one wage gap. The racial wage gap is another issue that is arguably larger than the wage gap between men and women. Whack states that this wage gap – between African Americans and White Americans is larger than it was in the 1980’s in America. The main reason for this great divide; economic discrimination. More importantly, black women are seeing the lowest wages compared to white men and women as well as black men. Specifically, Whack mentioned the differences of wages, using the white man as an anchor for the year of 2015. A black man with an identical background to the white man earns 22 cents for every dollar of the anchor. Compared to the black woman who only earns 11 cents less than a white woman, but still makes 34 cents less than a white man’s dollar. Whack further cites that one way to decrease the gap involved attaining higher education.

That fact that was said before, “Women are earning 80% of what men are for doing the same job and working just as hard”, that was just Caucasian women. Other women of different ethnicities and races are earning even less. So, not only is the gender pay gap sexist, it’s racist as well. African American women are being paid 63% of what men are, American Indian and Alaska Natives are being paid 59%, and Hispanic or Latino women are being paid 54%. This is not okay. It’s bad enough that some women are being 80%, but some women are being paid 54% of what men are which is just outrageous. People argue that the reason some of these ethnicities get payed so little is because they have less education. They also argue that these women usually tend

“Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work” -Susan B. Anthony. Countless women, even here in the U.S. have some sort of the wage gap. The wage gap is the difference between the median earnings of women relative to median earnings of men. In this case, women earn a significant amount less than men. Although the wage gap has gotten smaller over the years, the wage gap still has a long way to go. Women deserve better than just minimum earnings. Full time, working women should obtain the best promotions and benefits. Women that work just as tough and have the equivalent qualifications as men do still earn less, and that is just unacceptable. The wage gap should be abolished on behalf of women of color and their struggle, equal pay is a global problem, equal pay benefits employers and workers, and the wage gap accumulates over time.

Inequality is present in every corner of the United States of America. It comes in all different shapes and sizes; it may come in the form of race, ethnicity, sex, or even gender. To showcase how big of an issue it really is I will compare and contrast the differences between them. One of the most ongoing and present topics of inequality is race. The inequality often lies in the sense of income made by different races, the most common being white Americans making more than African Americans. In the 2011, the average income of the white American household was $110,000, while the African American household average was just over $6,000(Vega). The difference is jaw dropping, it would take no rocket scientist to realize there is some sort of inequality occurring between African Americans and White Americans. However, this is not the only type of inequality occurring. Inequality between gender is very similar to the inequality between ethnicities. The wage gap between genders seems to be the most prevalent topic among discussion at the present time. We fortunately live in a society and time where the fight for equality is very strong. We have seen so much change just within the past 5 years. “In 2015, women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 80 percent of what men were paid” (Miller). The difference in wage is jarring. From

The wage gap between blacks and whites in the U.S. has existed since before the mid 1900’s, and has persisted with us to this day.

“I do not demand equal pay for any women save those who do equal work in value. Scorn to be coddled by your employers; make them understand that you are in their service as workers, not as women.” (Susan B. Anthony) Susan B. Anthony said this over a hundred years ago, when the woman’s suffrage movement was just beginning in the United States. Even after all this time, the gender wage gap is a still hot topic in the United States today. Popular stars and politicians including Kate Winslet, Jennifer Lawrence, and Hillary Clinton all have something to say about it. There is even a section of thewhitehouse.gov dedicated to discussing the gender wage gap which is the comparison of women 's wages to men’s wages in the United States (“Equal Pay”). It is pretty common knowledge in the United States that women make 78 cents to a man’s dollar. However, it is not common knowledge that this is only comparing white women to white men (“The Simple Truth”). Women of color make even less than that, Latinas making the least, only 54 cents to a white man’s dollar. The Latina wage gap is largely ignored by the media because of the complicated politics of racial and gender based discrimination.

Minorities encounter unequal pay who have same qualifications as the standard group in America, which are the white Americans. The minority group with the largest pay gap are the Hispanic and Latina women who receive only 54 percent of "what a white man were paid in 2014" (Hill, n.d., para 8). Hill continues to express those who are affected by the pay gap, she states that the "pay gap is far worse for women of color". Furthermore, According to Hill (para. 10-12), education is a great way to increase earnings and decrease the pay gap, however, the "black and Hispanic women still earn less than their white and Asian peers, even when they have the same educational credentials." Furthermore, this indicates that with the same qualifications and

The inequality of pay between a man and a woman grows when the woman's race is taken into consideration, statistically, white women earn seventy-eight cents, African-American women earn sixty-four cents and Latina women earn fifty-six cents for every dollar earned by a white man as stated on www. whitehouse.gov. This significant wage gap is not just a bunch of numbers -- it has real life consequences that affect real life women: women with growing children to feed, women of color, disabled women, aging women longing retirement, and your own

The gender pay gap is a problem nationwide in the United States. It is a phenomenon that affects women of all education levels, ages, and races. Although it varies in a state-by-state basis, the pay gap is prevalent in all states (Miller, 2017). The issue is also occupation-wide, meaning that nearly every occupation will have a gender gap (Miller, 2017). Statistics from The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap have shown that while an increase in education help women earn more, it does not eliminate the problem all together or close the gap (Miller, 2017). As of recent statistics, women are paid approximately 80 cents for every dollar a man makes, however, the gap is worse for women of color, especially, when compared to the salary of that of white men; African American women earn 63% of the salary that white men earn, Native American women earn 58%, and the largest gap is for Latina women, who earn only 54% (Miller, 2017).

Not only are women of color facing sexism in their workplace, but also the racism that everyone thinks no longer exists. With sexism and racism paired in the workplace, the wage gap for women of color is appalling. “…African American women are paid only 64 cents, and Latinas only 56 cents…” (NWLC) Women of color are getting paid just slightly over half of what white men are getting paid. These numbers are horrendous to imagine; but they are real numbers that real people are getting paid, and it needs to come to an

In 1963, the Equal Pay Act was passed by Congress; it required that men and women at the same workplace be paid the same amount of money for equal work (EEOC). However, this law was not enforced whatsoever and fifty-five years later little to no change has been seen. Researchers say that if nothing is done by the government soon, the United States will not reach pay equity until 2059 (WeForum). The pay gap narrowed slightly in the 1980s, but since then the average pay gap country-wide has remained around 80 cents to a dollar. In Columbus, Ohio, where women make up more than 50% of the population, there is an even lower gap at 78 cents to a dollar for white women, 64 cents to a dollar for African American women, and 61 cents to a dollar for Latinas. If these discrepancies did not exist then women who work full-time, year-round jobs being paid the same amount of money as men for the same job with the same qualifications then they would be able to buy eighty more weeks of food (one and a half years’ worth), pay for nine more months of mortgage/utility payments, and for more than fourteen additional months of rent (National Partnership). This is why the Columbus City Council should pass a law/ordinance that makes it illegal in Columbus, Ohio for companies and businesses to pay their employees a different salary for jobs that require equal qualifications of men and women of all

The wage gap equation, however, is more complex and has more variables to take in consideration. In the United States, discussions about race in the workplace often are related to the feeling of relative privilege of white people or black people and minorities. Research throughout

African-Americans also face gender disparities when it comes to jobs. Women in particular face large pay gaps. Dr. Steven Pitts of UC Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education notes Black women in the public sector earn a median wage of $15.50 an hour, while the sector’s median wage overall

The United States was established on the basis of freedom. After finally gaining freedom from the tyrannical Great Britain American’s made sure they would never be stripped of their freedoms again by establishing our government and rights like freedom of speech, the press, and religion. Even with these rights in the past the United States was still full of inequality, with African Americans and women not having the same rights as white men. After fighting for their rights these minority groups have gained many rights that our founding fathers probably never would predict they would have. Regardless of these rights gained there is still inequality in our country, even in the 21st century. The Constitution is made up of several amendments that have been enacted over time to provide equality regarding race and gender. None of these amendments have ceased the problem of inequality between men and women in the workplace. In the United States the average woman earns seventy-seven cents to every dollar earned by a male for equivalent work. In this paper I am going to argue that if I were able to make a change to the Constitution I would add an amendment that guarantees equal pay for men and women in any working position.