Issues Regarding Gender Gaps Within The Workplace

Over the past few decades, great strides have been made by women in the workplace. This increased number in women in the workplace does not mean equality however. Even with equal qualifications and achievements, women are still not given all the opportunities that men have. The chapter in the textbook, “Gender at Work”, shows us more of these inequalities in the workplace. Such inequalities cause gender segregation of jobs and can be linked with the pay inequality in the labor force. Even in jobs that are predominantly filled by women, men earn more than women. Women are often stereotyped as being family focused and not as able to travel, therefore they tend to get passed up for promotions (Garson p.353). This invisible barrier that keeps women from moving up the executive ladder is referred to as the “glass ceiling” (Baxter and Wright p. 346). Women also tend to do more domestic work, or unpaid labor and caregiving. This extra unpaid work is referred to as “the third shift” and is largely rested on the shoulders of women (Gersel p. 352). Consequently, this seems to be one of the biggest things holding women back from taking on jobs that are normally considered male

Most people think that gender equality is now common place in Western societies, but research shows that gender equality, which gained momentum in the 1970s, has since stalled, particularly when we look at class issues. Some issues have been hit head on, issues relating to sexist job ads and some sexist behavior at work…but we still have a long way to go. The wage gap between men and women is especially concerning.

Women have been entering the workforce since the 1970’s at an increasing rate. Statistics show that 39% of the workforce during the 1970’s were women. In 2010 that percentage increased to 47% (Gender, Web). As more women enter the workforce, even with the possibility of increased fraternization and sexual harassment, there should be equality in pay and positions.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed with the intentions to give women the same, fair pay as men. Although the Equal Pay Act was passed, the wage gap is still ongoing. The wage gap is based on the difference of pay between men and women doing the same jobs. “Women make seventy-nine cent for every dollar that a male earns. This results in a wage gap of twenty-one percent. Leading to a gap of “380,000 dollars over her career” (Little 1). One can argue that this wage gap shows that men and women are not equals. Men and women work side by side, both of them doing the same jobs, yet women are continually paid less. The only explanation left is that women are not valued in the same way men are, meaning they are worth less than their male counterpart. The purpose of this poster is to show women what society believes their efforts in the workplace are worth.

The gender wage gap has been a substantial subject that has had numerous studies done, that included extensive debates and commentary for the past three centuries. In fact, the gender wage gap predominantly affects women. For example, in 2003 people reported that women make eighty cents for every dollar men make(Gender Pay 8). For one thing, women should not be getting paid less for doing the same job as men. The individual hired at the same time as another individual should receive the same starting pay until it is shown they deserve more pay than they are receiving. If the wage gap continues to grow at the rate it has been, it will be another fifty years before women make the same as men (Discrimination 1). The workforce has grown a considerable

Do women belong in the workplace? Should employers treat them differently because of their responsibilities in the home? The article “Female Company President: ‘I’m Sorry to all the Mothers I Worked With’” by Kathrine Zaleski, president and co-founder of PowerToFly, argues that women can be both successful mothers and employees if employers take the initiative to accommodate them. She believes that women have the ability and skills to become both valuable employees and involved mothers, but employers need to make adjustments in several common work practices in order to build women up to their full potential.

Throughout history females have never been treated fairly compared to their male counterparts. The gender wage gap has been a real and prevalent thing in our society. Even in the present, women are inclined to get lower salaries than men throughout the world, and most importantly the United States where the constitution says “all men are created equal.” All salaries are on a weekly basis and percentages are cents a woman earns per dollar a man earns. Though many are currently working to fix the situation, there is much we can do as individuals to stop discrimination in the work force. The United States’ wage gap is caused by discrimination against women, who have less opportunities for higher paying jobs, and in order to eradicate this issue in our country and worldwide, women need to be treated impartially in the workforce.

In general, the wage gap has narrowed at a slow, and uneven, pace over last three decades. Recent data shows that women in the American workforce earn 77 cents for every dollar a man earns (Trevino). The existence of this “gender wage gap” has been an issue since women entered the workforce. The ongoing issue of the past has now become an apparent problem in our modern-day, progressive society. Women nowadays have opportunities that were not obtainable in past decades but must overcome, or ignore, the barrier of being punished in the long run for simply being a woman. While there have been major progresses in breaking through the norms and social constructs, women face other challenges, including discrimination and sexism (Gender). Despite the ongoing struggle to reach wage equality between the sexes through various legislative initiatives and the ever increasing involvement of women in the American workforce, the wage gap has only closed by a marginal 15 percent over the last four decades (Dale and Levine).

Women’s work is often undervalued because of the two arguments mentioned before, gender stereotypes and segregation in the workplace (McGrew). Women’s work in the job force and the work they do as a parent is undervalued. In the workplace, women in both higher and lower paying job fields are seen as unqualified for the work. As a mother, women are expected to give up all other passions or aspirations to be a mother, while still providing for their children financially. Either way a woman’s potential is judged based on her gender, instead of her work ethic, qualifications or hard

For many years in the United States, women have been faced with equality issues. Men were regarded as superior, which made women feel inferior and insignificant. One place this has occurred is the workplace. This type of inequality dates backs centuries and comes from the common belief that since men were the breadwinners, women should take care of the home and children. As a result, men were believed to be more efficient in their careers. This is also known as systemic discrimination (Kennedy et al., 2008). When women were given the right to vote, they began to progress and take their place in the workforce. As they increased in numbers, there became a need to for fair

Since the beginning, women have been oppressed due to their gender. In many places, women are wrongfully paid less than male coworkers. Although the pay gap between women and men has been gradually reduced, it's still a huge problem that many women face today. Women shouldn't have to worry about a pay gap at all because there shouldn't be one, to begin with. The wage gap isn't all about money, it discriminates and deprives women of achieving greater goods. It's crucial that women start achieving equality in the workplace by removing barriers that can encourage women to enter male-dominated fields.

Women earn less than men. In fact, in America, a woman earns an average of 79 cents to her male coworker’s dollar. Many people see this statistic and think that 21 cents is nothing to fuss over, but the truth is that “the cumulative impact of lower wages throughout women’s careers is devastating, costing a woman working full time, year-round close to half a million dollars over the course of her career” (“New Report”). Although the inferior treatment of women in the workplace is an unfortunate reality, there are many groups and organizations working to empower women and do something about the gender pay gap.

The generation now has made it easier to equalize men and women but there is still a substantial amount of places where gender inequality is still happening in the workplace and where females still face discrimination. Women are often discriminated in the workplace and are usually not promoted as quickly as men are and they also receive less pay. History shows that women have not always been defined as property and thought of as second class citizens. But in the 21st century many have seen a drastic change in the so called “traditional” family ways where women are suppose to stay home and take care of the household chores, food, and children and men are suppose to work to support their family and provide financial stability. Many assume that in the workplace women are more vulnerable and less competent than men because women 's instincts are to put their family before work or anything else. Whereas men are the ones who will usually stay the late hours to work. People on both sides of the political spectrum and everywhere in between seem to be fearful of what is to come and more fearful of others than they are often willing to admit.

Throughout the years women have made great effort to become equal to men. This effort has led to great advances in the movement, but not all of the problems are solved yet. One of the main problems as of right now is the unequal treatment of men and women in the work place. Women are not equal to men in the workplace because of unequal pay, a lack of women in managerial positions, and sexual harassment in the work place.

When I think of the work and gender inequality gap, one will instantly think of the wage gap as I remember when I was younger, this was and still is one of the major topics of the news in our country today. It seems that women are only paid just over half than what men are paid in the workplace. Why would this factor exist in today’s society with so many women entering back into the workplace and also getting college degrees? I know I’ve even read that women are surpassing men when it comes to education and achieving greater degrees. So why would women still be paid less than men in the workplace? In the workplace, women still have gender stereotypes to live up to as I understand from what I got from Kimmel. These stereotypes are still broadly affecting what women’s jobs actually are. Women cannot be at home and be a caregiver while at the same time being at work and being the breadwinner so to speak. This can be done, but women cannot be in two places at the exact same time in their life! Women have so much to worry about when it comes down to the house and the family and it is still surprising to me to see that women are not really given enough credit in my opinion. It takes a lot on a woman to actually be a woman in a man’s world. Some older and more traditional men will expect us women to be at home and take care of all of the household duties while also being a caregiver for the children as well. It is not fair of a society to ask a woman to spend so many