Is Sexism A Single Mother?

My mother was a widow by the time she was in her mid-thirties with four children under the age of 16. It would have been easy to accept handouts and pity, but I witnessed her rise from tragedy, more determined than ever to provide every necessity that her children needed and wanted. As appreciative as I was when I was younger, I look back in total awe of her. Even though she worked 60-plus hours a week to make ends meet, she still told us that

I believe that it’s not fair for single mothers to get paid less, when some of them are the back bones of this country. Currently the minimum wage, in the United States, is set to 8$ per hour. Women in general are only paid 77%, so it is appropriate to assume that through mathematics, women get a wage as high as $6.16. African-American women only get paid 64% of every dollar a man makes. If the minimum wage is only $8 an hour, we find out that African-American women only get a maximum wage of $5.12 an hour. Income inequality is not fair to the mothers who have kids to raise by themselves. Single mothers have no spouse or any other fixed income to help.

My mom did everything in her power to make ends meet. After my brother graduated, my mother moved 500 miles away to Connecticut. I grew up in West Virginia, this resulted in me not wanting to move. I moved in with my father my freshman year. My father was constantly distracted from drugs and alcohol. At this time, I was half way through high school. I realized that I could not live with him anylonger. I spent about a year living with friends. My grandmother, who I was not particularly close with, so graciously allowed me to live with. In order to do this, I was requirered to learn how to support myself financially. Today, I assist my grandmother in paying utilities as well as paying for all neccessitites for myself. My grandmother never had a license or a vehicle. I provide her with transportation too. She does not support me financially, but she does provide me with a roof over my head. In June, I will be moving out on my own. I will continue to live each day with optimism. I will continue to endavor through the difficult times, and will stop at nothing to reach

The pay gap stems from traditionalized views of life that have not changed for decades. A recent article by the Los Angeles Times states, “It’s discriminatory because the differences were almost certainly the result of gender bias,” The pay gap has not changed throughout time, which emphasizes the lasting effect of sexism. Gender bias is introduced very young in children, and they grow up with ideas, believing them to be true. Studies show that the need for family time “…lead women to take lower-paying jobs because they’re more likely to offer flexible [hours], while fears of discrimination might steer them away from higher-paying professions” (Lam). Women typically take off more time than men for children, and often do not receive paid leave. This causes a large problem among young and single mothers who do not have another income to support them.

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.

Since the time the United States was founded, women were not given the same rights as men, resulting in many women struggling for years. In the second wave of feminism, “Feminists worked for the Equal Rights Amendment, the Equal Pay Act, the addition of sex discrimination to the Civil Rights Act and other laws that would guarantee equality” (Napikoski, 2016). Despite so much time fighting for the Equal Pay Act, in 2017 there is still a very prominent issue with women not being paid as much as men. Women will do the same job as a male peer, and still be paid less; they even have a lower starting salary than men do. A man can make 6.6% more than a woman will a year

Men were the only people for many years to have jobs to maintain the family. I believe because women were so late in gaining equal rights they, till this day they are underpaid. It is unfair that both sexes can have the same qualifications and job and yet women still fall short in salary pay. Even when it comes to promotions bosses tend to choose men because it gives their company a better imagine, a more “manly” image. A man in front of a company is said to show more strength and business knowledge rather than a women. People tend to be somewhat skeptical of what a women is capable of handling in their jobs as well as in a everyday life situation. Women aren’t as involved in meetings are given any challenging tasks because women are seen as incapable to handle it. During the hiring process there tends an abundance of discrimination. Women are typically chosen for women-based jobs like cleaning or nursing. Men are typically chosen for manly jobs like business and construction. Women able to to the same jobs so it’s not like they don’t try, they just aren’t very likely in getting the job. When it comes to the hiring process sexism tends to be programmed into people 's brains.

I come from single parent home and I have seen my mother struggle all her life to give me the life she never had. She immigrated to the United states, with my grandma, and her two siblings when she was nine and attended

A single woman, 2 kids under the age of 18, a high stress work environment, and she still isn’t paid an equal amount as a man with the same job. Millions of women from across the United States have been fighting for equality since the dawn of time. and the results so far have not been outstanding. “If the Gap Were Closed, California Women Could Afford Food for More Than One Year, Four More Months of Mortgage and Utilities, or More Than Six Additional Months of Rent Annually” (California). The ever present pay gap in America is degrading to women in the workforce and should be closed because the gap doesn’t affect just white, single women; it affects all ethnicities, working mothers, and households across the country, although many people will

I was the only child, and my father had passed away when I was just an infant. My mother had been diagnosed with leukemia and wasn’t able to work; nor even get out of bed. I already had a job, but I had to pick up a part-time job on Sunday’s to accommodate for my mother’s loss of income. During the week, I would work as a chef at a street side

Furthermore, the employment society has an unjust take on this. “Oh, female employees in a workforce? That’s a hassle to manage… We know, let’s pay them lower wages! Better yet, in some cases, let us just not hire them at all, even though they are perfectly qualified because a male worker can do it just as well.” Just as well… equally qualified... Hmm, something is not right here. Should women have to settle for lower payment rates just because of their

Gender stereotypes still exist as Catherine Hill stated earlier in this paper. Statistics show that today 45% of women are enrolled in college compared to 38% of men. 36% of women have bachelors degrees compared to 28% of men (time.com). According to Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn (2007 pg. 845) the authors of The Gender Pay Gap, women get paid less because they have over all less experience in the work force. Men have been in the work force from the beginning and women just joined during WWII. Another reason they say is because women also do housework, the more housework they do, the less time they have to spend at their job or doing their job. Also because women are anticipated to have a shorter work life, meaning they will not stay working as long as a male would or stay at the same job for as long as a male would.

Watching my mother live from pay check to pay check when I was young was difficult. It was always hard for my mom to keep up with other parents but, she still somehow managed to get me everything I wanted, and more. Even though I was too young to understand, I could feel the stress, and the struggles my mom faced every day. She was only 20 years old when I was born and, because of that she had no choice but to grow up fast. At such a young age, I saw the effects of being a single parent, and the ways it changed my mom. She not only had to be a young mother but, she had to find a way to replace the void of a father, or a father figure in my life. My mom was strong, independent and courageous. Growing up watching her live her dreams under all the circumstances she faced, made me want to strive for a better life for myself. Seeing how hard is was to live and to have enough

The poverty rate for all working women would be cut in half, falling to 3.9 percent from 8.1 percent. The high poverty rate for working single mothers would fall by nearly half, from 28.7 percent to 15.0 percent. For the 14.3 million single women living on their own, equal pay would mean a significant drop in poverty from 11.0 percent to 4.6 percent.” (Institute for Women’s Policy Research). The companies that act against the equal pay are not seeing the big picture, research shown that the gender gap have been hurting the economy “Persistent pay discrimination for women translates into lower wages and family income in families with a working woman. The gender pay gap also affects the economy as a whole: in 2012, the U.S. economy would have produced additional income of $447.6 billion (equal to 2.9 percent of 2012 GDP) if women received equal pay.” (Institute for Women’s Policy

With simple solutions like negotiation skills and laws, the problem can begin to be solved. As a result, men and women can work in the career they want and not worry about being discriminated against due to their gender. Gender should never be the deciding factor of what an individual earns, it should be based on their skills and how well they perform in the field they chose. It can also certainly be said that a single mother could possibly get enough money through child support and her own job, but that might not always be the case. Maybe the individual paying child support does not make much money in their job, then in turn cannot pay the single mother much money. In this situation, the extra money that a woman would lose over the course of her career would be tremendously helpful. Therefore, by having equal salaries, it would be easier for single mothers to care for their children. If the wage gap is eliminated, then salaries would not be based on gender and single mothers would be better off. This would then again point the United States in the direction of