Equal Pay Paid For Minority Women

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).

As long as an American woman is putting in the same amount of hours with the same qualifications and experience in the same occupation as an American male, and yet taking home a wage that is any lower, she is not being treated fairly as an equal. Contrary to many arguments, it’s undeniable that a wage gap exists, and while there are various ideas as to the most probable cause, there is no reason why this gap should continue to go uncorrected or unchanged. Our government should take concrete steps to close the gender wage gap because it violates women’s rights and equality.

After years of Civil Rights Movements and Pay Equity Acts, as of 2014, women still only make 79 cents to a man 's every dollar. Although the wage gap has shrunk since the 1970’s, progress has recently stalled and chances of it vanishing on its own is unlikely. The gains that American women have made towards labor market experience and skills is tremendous. In fact, women account for 47% of labor workforce and 49.3% of American jobs. But despite of women’s strides, a gender pay gap still exists. Experts suggest that it will take 100 years to close the gap at the rate employers and legislators are working to create solutions. But by allowing women to work in higher paying positions and by proposing and updating pay equity laws, the gender gap can finally be diminished.

Equal pay is a problem on a global scale. Over 145 countries have a documented pay wage gap (Werft). One would hope the United States would have the smallest wage gap, but in 2016, the United States was in only 45th place in the smallest wage gap (“Rankings”). In fact, most women in the United States only make $0.77 compared to a whole dollar they should earn. The state with the worst wage gap is Louisiana, with only, on average $0.69 for every man’s dollar (“Rankings”). One in three of the 15.2 million families headed by women have fallen below the poverty line, leaving their children to suffer in poverty

One key issue that is covered by the Women’s Rights movement is shrinking the pay gap. Currently in the U.S. women earn roughly eighty cents to every full dollar earned by a man ("Pay Equity"). This accounts for the fact that the average American male

In American society today there is an imbalance in the gender income gap between men and women in the work force. Many factors such as discrimination, productivity, educational background and disproportional hours worked contribute to this ongoing challenge. While many are skeptical, others remain to have strong beliefs that women and men are treated equally. In most professions according to Glynn “women only earn seventy seven cents for every dollar earned by men” (2014). Although, the seventy seven cents figure does not accurately reflect gender discrimination, it does capture some discrimination,

Unequal pay is something that has been an issue in America for a very long time. Gender has been one of the main culprits that played a factor in the wage gap between men and women, but race may have a role. The wage gap is expressed as a percentage (e.g., in 2013, women earned 78.3% as much as men aged 16 and over) and is calculated by dividing the median annual earnings for women by the median annual earnings for men. (“The Wage Gap”)

Throughout the history of the United States, equality for all has been a highly sought-after, yet controversial aspect of American life. Whether it was the period of Native American reorganization or the destructive era of Southern slavery, it has been equality that continues to be denied to a certain group of citizens. In order to combat this, many efforts have been made to influence equality in all elements of citizen’s lives. However, in today’s society, many of these attempts have failed to be noticed, for true equality has yet to be entirely achieved. Notably, working women all over the country have been denied equal wages to that of men. Thus, condoning the use of wage discrimination against women in the workplace is unjust and inequitable because women perform many of the same jobs as men do, they are entitled to the same basic rights as the rest of society, and because laws have already been passed to illegalize wage discrimination based on gender. Both men and women in the labor force are expected of comparable tasks and performances, yet the payment that women receive as compensation remains noticeably less than that of men.

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

Women continue to face disadvantages in the workplace in regards to not receiving equal pay as well. There are many instances where women have the same or more qualifications to do a job than their male counterparts but do not receive the same pay. This difference in pay is not only related to gender differences but also racial differences. Women employees of different racial backgrounds tend to earn less money than their white female and male counterparts. Many women of color often face discrimination when applying to jobs and are overlooked for a position despite having the qualifications to do the work. When they are hired to these occupations they are not receiving the same pay as their white female counterparts. This double bind that minority women face within the work place continues to lead to economic hardships. Regarding women in the workplace in general, due to society’s high regard for men they are often not promoted to positions of authority or receive equal pay because people assume that women are inferior workers. (Buchanan, p205-207)

After analyzing the history of the gender wage gap, the paper will now look at the current state of the issue. The percentage of female earnings compared to male earnings increased from around 60 percent in 1980 to 77 percent in 2010, according to National Compensation Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Blau and Kahn 2000). The gap was larger for African-American and Hispanic women, who earned only 70% and 61% respectively of what white men earned. As a result, April 20, 2011 was known as Equal Pay Day, which is the approximate day the average female employee would

The average woman in America’s work industry does not receive the same wage as their male co-workers. Women should receive equal pay not only because it’s morally fair, but also because it would be outstanding for the U.S. economy. Think about this: 41% of women are their family’s main source of income, also women contribute 83% of the gross national product.

“We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn 't a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only seventy-seven percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change” stated Grammy Award winner, Beyoncé (Knowles-Carter 34). Although in the twenty-first century, women are still fighting for equality to simply be paid the same amount as men. The main causes of this gender inequality include education level, gender discrimination, and occupational segregation; all of which have been deemed as false, discriminatory conclusions. Contrasting incomes between genders impacts not only women, but also society, families, and individuals. One’s income should not be based off of gender, but rather women and men should have equal earnings.

In society, men and women are not being treated equally in the workplace. Most of the time men and women don’t have the same opportunities and resources to move up in life. However, this gender bias and discrimination has played its role in the wage gap for so long that it is widely recognized. Today women still earn less than men. Women still don’t earn the same salaries as

Females make up half the workforce, yet in 2015, full-time working females made only eighty cents for every dollar earned by males, a gender wage gap of 20 percent. Women, on average, obtain less than men in essentially every occupation for which an earning ratio is a component. The gender pay gap in America is unjust and sexist. Women are not inferior to men, especially in the workplace. As a strong, ever changing society women should no longer have to deal with any discriminatory attitudes against gender, race, or religion. One significant discrimination problem the world population is fighting, takes place in the workplace. Women, who are as equally trained and educated, and with the same experience as men are not getting the equal pay they deserve.