Income disparities have been an issue within the American society before and during the arrival of the industrial revolution. During the industrial revolution era white, middle-class women were viewed as dainty, unproductive, submissive and domesticated individuals whom worth was based upon her virtuous character. Therefore, because society perceived women as a “cult of true womanhood” they believe women certainly could not be paid employees as noted by Gordon, Buhle, and schrom (as cited in Samuels, Jiménez, Herrera & Ferber, 2009, p. 337). The reason women were referred to as the “cult of true womanhood” was because of its strict and somewhat pious standards. This abstract way of thinking toward women’s restrictive position within society …show more content…
One of the reasons income inequality continues to prevail in today’s society is because lawmakers disagree on the issue at hand. The New York Times (n.d)) notes that Republicans blocked a bill on equal pay presented by Democrats that was aimed at closing the pay gap between men and women. Republican lawmakers impede that bill because they believed that given existing anti-discrimination laws, the legislation was redundant and is a transparent attempt by the Democrats to distract from President Obama’s much –criticized health care law. Another reason the income equality persist is due the difference in pay between genders within the same occupations. However, some lawmakers who turn down the equal pay bill believed that the disparity remains because of difference in occupations held among male and female. An example of an occupational difference is a female social worker that makes less than a male engineer (New York Times, n.d). Finally, I believe these income disparities persist because this civilization refuse to dismantle the past sexism views of women’s role as the weaker, idle and subservient domesticator. All in all, until society as a whole embrace women’s ingenuity, strength, and eagerness to be a working productive member of society the pay gap between men and women will continue to prevail for generations to
Income inequality is on the rise and it is evident in most cities throughout the United States. There are individuals with six to seven figure incomes and then there are individuals whose income is just enough to get by. The middle class is not as prominent as the upper and lower class. This should be the other way around. There should not be so many cities with very wealthy neighborhoods right next door to low class, rundown neighborhoods, with little middle class households. Digging deeper, 47.6% of the money in the United States belongs to individuals that receive $98,200 or more (“Distribution of U.S. family income”, 101). The middle class should be much more noticeable with the upper and lower
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,
During the 1960’s, women represented about forty percent of America’s labor force. Women have typically received a median average wage three-fifths that of a male’s earnings. In the 1960’s, people justified paying women a lower wage using the excuse that a male’s societal role, as the main breadwinner, entitled him to a higher pay than a woman. Even if a woman and a man were performing the same job, a man would get paid higher simply because of his gender. Women began to realize the wage gender inequality, and began fighting for equal rights.
Ninety-five years ago the nineteenth amendment was passed giving women in America the right to vote (America’s Historical Documents), this was a pivotal step for women rights. Since then women’s rights have increasingly advanced throughout America: in politics and in the workforce. In fact “women today make up almost half of all worker in the United States” (The State of Women in America). Sadly though, women are paid less than males in the workforce. "Women in the United States are paid only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes" (The State of Women in America). One question that derives from this topic is: why are women still not getting paid as much as men? Women should get paid as equally as men do. A fair argument to make against the topic is the difference in the types of work a woman and a man does (Debate). For example in construction men are tasked with most of the heavy lifting as opposed to a women that do not have as much
The difference of income and workers conditions has been a timeless conflict present throughout history of the United States. In the past workers were faced with deadly work conditions and around the clock hours for little pay. These unjust conditions dramatically increased during the Industrial Revolutions that the United States experienced in the nineteenth century. The latter period of industrialization produced the organization of the first labor unions in the Country, namely the Knights of Labor established in 1869 and the American Federation of Labor established in 1886. In present day countless unions exist, and are a lot less needed than they were in the early industrial days of the United States (Brinkley, 2012).
Imagine that the U.S economy is a group of ten people making a cake. Despite the fact that everyone contributed, one person would take 90% of the cake. The other nine would be left to fight over the renaming 10%. In what universe would this be a fair situation.
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
Without realizing it, most of us live in a bubble. This impermeable layer makes us oblivious to what's going on in the world and ignorant to the truth. The media is powerful, but there is a huge difference between seeing something, and experiencing it in person. After 17 years of living in that bubble, I finally popped it and opened my eyes to a world I had never felt before. Colombia, like many developing nations, faces rampant income inequality that acts as a huge barrier for the country to make a leap towards economic prosperity. But to truly understand this great monster in our world called "income inequality", you have to experience both extreme living conditions. And during the summer, I was able to do just that. In 24 hours. With an
Superior authorities that are discriminatory and unequal to others because of ones status have shaped our society to the way it is now. To this day we still encounter income inequalities in the United States. Social inequality gap between who can afford the healthcare. Superior people who are in charge don’t make it easy for low-income families to afford healthcare. Minority groups hold far fewer net financial assets than whites. We are categorized in groups, upper class, middle class and lower class. When health is a service, the poor are more likely to experience illness caused by poor diet, to live and work in unhealthy environments, and are less likely to challenge the system. In the United States, a disproportionate number of racial minorities
The problem of income inequality is one that is very prevalent in this time in America. The disparity of wealth in this country is very vast and a growing problem. These problems of income inequality are taking away peoples aspect human dignity, this is a major moral issue because everyone is entitled to human dignity and when it is taken away from them that is moral wrong. Additionally this is an issue in which the Church is very involved in. Additionally President Obama in his State of the Union Address back in January also made note of the problems in the nation with regards to income inequality and the minimum wage. The United States Catholic Conference
Income inequality in the United States has been increasing gradually as from the 20th century where there was economic stability. It is estimated that around a quarter of the American worker population receives not more than $10 in an hour. Through this condition, it creates an income that is below what the federal poverty level demands. Those who receive low income include the fast food employees, cashiers, nurse's aides and many more. Other individuals get good payments which are above $10 per hour. Wealth inequality in America is quite common as there are those who are the major economic block and those who can’t afford even the three meals in a day. The social issues that income and wealth inequality might cause in the United States include poverty, household debts becoming high, high crime rates, no health insurance for the low-income families, high mobility rates, high crime rates and school dropouts.
The gender pay gap is the biggest unspoken problem in America. This issue has been in the world since the dawn of time, but people only started paying attention to it in the last 80 years. In order to close this gap for good, we have to look at where it began. Stereotypes and traditions of stereotypes are the main roots of this problem; before we look at that, we must make sure we stay balanced in our fight against injustice. If we push too far, we will fall into a gender pay gap in favor of women, and I don’t want that I want fair only.
In the United States, there is a huge income disparity between the richest ten percent, and bottom ninety percent. The American tax, and political system favors the top 10% while neglecting the middle and working classes, suppressing living wages and exporting jobs overseas. A society where working 40 hours a week will not put food on the table. If the average hardworking American is working endless hours to try and support their families which is just slightly above the poverty line, while groups of 400 individuals, who are heads of the top 500 companies and financial institutions, who if even work, is less than 108 days a year, and are proud owners of 50% of U. S’s entire wealth. This is the reality of the United
The American Association University of Women reports that the average full time workingwoman receives just 80% the salary of a man. In 1960, women made just 60% of what men made, an upward trend that can be explained “largely by women’s progress in education and workforce participation and to men’s wages rising at a slower rate”, but a trend that is not yet equal (p. 4). Hill recognizes that the choices of men and women are not always the same, whether it be in college major, or job choice, however she concludes that women experience pay gaps in virtually all levels of education and lines of work. She suggests that continuing to increase the integration of women in predominately male dominated work will help the pay gap, however, she believes that alone won’t be enough to ensure equal pay for women.
During the Industrial Revolution, the discrepancy in gender wages decreased from a 70 percent deficit in the agricultural economy to approximately 50 percent in the manufacturing economy. During the period from around 1890 to 1930, the gender wage gap decreased from 46 to 56 percent of male earnings. Clerical and sales professions began their ascendancy during this period. However, women’s participation in the workforce did not increase significantly in either of these periods. Additionally, the gender earnings gap remained almost constant at around 60 percent from 1950 - 1980 when women’s participation in the workforce increased substantially (Blau and Kahn 2000). Changes in household structure have also made equal pay more of a family issue. There are an increasing number of dual income households and one-third of women who work are the breadwinner of their family.