Importance Of Gender Inequality

The gender pay gap is a growing problem of the modern “Equal Rights” era. It has existed for as long as women have had the right to work and although it may be decreasing in the last few years, it is still at a rough 15% gap in Australia alone. Australia sits in a better position compared to the average of the world’s gender pay gap of 32%, however, is still a long way away from solving the issue. Across the world the gender pay gap varies with the least developed countries having the worst reports on the gender pay gap. Of the 22 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), only 5 countries have a gender pay gap less than 10% and three were over 20% and the mean average is 15.3%.

One cannot begin the discussion of gender pay gap without defining it. Simply put, gender pay gap is the inequality between men and women wages. Gender pay gap is a constant international problem, in which women are paid, on average, less than that of their male counterpart. As to if gender pay gap still exist, its exactness fluctuates depending on numerous factors such as professional status, country and regional location, gender, and age. In regards to gender, in some cases, both men and women have stated that the gap does not exist. Due to various countries initiatives to shrink the wage inequality between men and women wages in the work force, the gap has narrowed, respectively, which may have helped form such opinion. However, stating that the gender pay gap does not exist in today’s society, anywhere, is completely unlikely. Seeing that the gap has loosened its grasp in the working world, in other countries, the gap between pay has widen or remained stagnant. One cannot help but wonder why the gap remains consistent even with such substantial progress made in countries where the gap has decreased.

The gender pay gap is not just a US issue, it is a concern worldwide. A United Nations report from April of 2015 found that women were paid a quarter less than men globally, and called for all governments to take action to narrow the gap. The White House Council of Economic Advisers recently called the gender pay gap a “stubborn troubling fact” despite women’s gains over the

One cannot begin the discussion of gender pay gap without defining it. Simply put, gender pay gap is the inequality between men and women wages. Gender pay gap is a constant international problem, in which women are paid, on average, less than that of their male counterpart. As to if gender pay gap still exist, its exactness fluctuates depending on numerous factors such as professional status, country and regional location, gender, and age. In regards to gender, in some cases, both men and women have stated that the gap does not exist. Due to various countries initiatives to shrink the wage inequality between men and women wages in the work force, the gap has narrowed, respectively, which may have helped form such opinion. However, stating

The movement of promoting gender equality is exponentially growing every year; however, gender inequality is still a persistent problem in today’s workforce. Each year, gender inequality, especially employment equity, the distinct barrier between genders in the workforce, has become a topic of contention as its affecting working individuals worldwide, especially women. Before examining this problem, we must further understand what gender inequality is in the workplace. Gender inequality is an ascriptive factor, in which limits individuals to reach their full potential in their area of expertise by discriminating based on gender (module …). Both genders can have the same qualifications for an occupation, but a specific gender, mainly men, are seen to be more qualified than their female counterparts are. This can result in the refusal to allow the individual to take on leadership roles due to socially constructed views on gender. In addition, they may receive unequal wages compared to the opposing gender due to statistical discrimination which is the idea hiring or promoting individuals based on the average characteristics of their gender group rather than solely focusing on the individual( Textbook, 169). As we strive towards the goal of gender inequality, we must understand it in order to construct a proper solution.

Connell (2005) argued that institutions such as work act as a site of ‘gender configuration’, in which gender is created, reinforced and internalized. Work organisations can be gendered in many forms; this could be through the occupations held by each sex which could result in them being gendered for example women are associated with being emotional and caring. These attributes are prevalent in the types of jobs they undertake, for example they may work as nurses or teachers which entail a caring approach whereas men may work in occupations such as Construction which involves physical labour thus allowing men to exert masculinity. Another way in which the workplace is gendered can also be seen in the positions that men and women reach such as senior managerial roles which are predominantly occupied by males. To say that workplace cultures are gendered however involves looking at the practices, behaviours and values of the individuals within the workplace which results in them being gendered. These cultures may be based on stereotypes, prejudices and ideals held by both men and women. In order to find out how work organisations and workplace cultures are gendered I will be looking at the occupations within the public sphere undertaken by each gender, the segregation that occurs within occupations as a result of them being gendered, the problems associated with work such as unequal pay and

The gender wage gap is the differences in the average wage of men and women within the economy as a whole. Over the last few decades’ women have entered the working world in record breaking numbers, however, compared to men, women are paid significantly less and tend to be the ones to hold lower paying jobs and to live in Poverty. It is not that women are choosing lower income jobs; they simply do not have the same opportunities as men do. This issue is not only present in higher wage levels and education categories; it is present on all levels. In 2013 women earned 78 cents for every dollar a man did. The gap narrowed between the 1970’s and 1980’s, but it has stopped narrowing and has remained between 76 and 78 cents since 2001. (Council of

Gender equality is a debatable topic in today’s society. It can be argued as a fundamental concept that is achieved when both men and women are treated equally, and are not discriminated on the basis of gender. This key concept is one of the main targets in the corporate world - to achieve gender equality. Women are more susceptible to discrimination at a workplace more than men because of the existence of the belief that women are less competent than men along with sexism, which is a hidden player.

Previously, gender inequality was like a taboo subject. Due to campaigns by women groups and activists, many governments are beginning acknowledge it as a significant problem, and several pieces of legislations have been passed in different countries to address this inequality. For example, in the UK, the Equality Act 2010 is the current legislation against sex discrimination The consensus is that a better understanding of gender inequality and the factors that have given rise to such practices may be a way forward in attempting to eliminate if from the workplace.

Out of the whole list of current global issues, gender inequality is one of the concealed matters, either to the public or for the most part men made work environments. Masculine society categorized men as dominant, careless, angry, and egoistic. On the contrary, Feminine society is customarily thought of as having common characteristics, like being caring, supportive, fragile, and relationship oriented. By examining masculinity and femininity through the lens of performing gender on socially constructed gender codes, Rosalind Barnett, a social researcher and analyst in her text, “Women and Work: Where Are We, Where Did We Come From, and Where Are We Going? ” aims to dismantle socially assigned gender

“Annual data for 2012, the latest year for which data are available, estimate that women earn 77 percent of what men do for working full-time, year-round, while weekly data put the estimate at 82.1 percent” (Glynn). As time has progressed, the wage gap has greatly increased due to gender segregation. When the median wages of both men and women have been averaged together, men have been found to have a significant advantage in their pay over women. Moreover, the wage gap between males and females can be used as a representation that expresses the difference in pay in today’s society. This pay gap can be used as an indication to measure the inequality between genders. The impact of the wage gap has been a controversial issue between men and

The concept of a pay gap between female and male workers has been around for decades, this is because countless studies seek to justify why women earn less than men, and in many disciplines women are more easily subjected to discrimination in comparison to their male counterparts. This unit exposes many underlining factors that ultimately determine whether the gender pay gap truly exists in the contemporary Western hemisphere. The scholarly field that correlates to this unit is economics and gender studies.

The earnings difference between men and women, otherwise known as the gender wage gap is defined by the OECD (2017) as the difference between the median earnings of women and that of men in an economy. The issue of gender wage gap has in the recent past attracted varied reactions in labor market. In most instances, men earn higher wages as compared to the female gender due to a number of factors such as the responsibility assigned, business culture, and the level of education. While most men receive the highest income across the globe, there has been a continued push to minimize the gender pay gap between men and women (Goldin, 2014). Various lobby groups have emanated to push for pay equity.

It is evident in today’s society, even though people would like to ignore the issue, there is a gap between the pay of men and women. To start, throughout the world, “the gender pay gap stands at 23 per cent

This means that women get roughly seventy-seven cents per dollar less than the average white man across the country (Casserly, 2015). Such pay gaps have seen an increase in poverty, injustice and social ills resulting in, but not limited to increased foster care, homelessness and increased participation in the adult industry. Gender inequality in employment levels across the globe is equally dramatic, in that in India only 27% of women are employed as compared to 44% in Greece (Easton, 2015). Ironically though the overall global workforce participation rate of women amounts to 55%, though it falls short of men who are at 82% employment levels. (Easton, 2015).