Lack Of Gender Equality In The United States

"In 1950 about one in three women participated in the labor force. By 1998, nearly three of every five women of working age were in the labor force" (Heatherfield, n.d., para. 4). In 2008, the U.S. Department of labor estimates that women will make up 48% of the workforce (Heatherfield, n.d., para. 6). As the number of women in the workforce rises so do the numbers of women who hold higher titles such as Chairman, CEO, Vice Chairman, President, Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President, and Executive Vice President. This number has increased from 7.3% in 2000 to 9.9% in 2002 (Diversity statistics, 2006).

Inequality between different groups of people within the United States is concerning for many sociologists and society in general. One of the main inequalities throughout the United States is gender inequality. Gender inequity is found in all past and present societies. It takes the form of patriarchy. From the patriarchal point of view, gender inequality can be traced back to biological differences in early societies (“Steven Goldberg on Patriarchy” 2006). This inequality is present in society through many different forms, including job segregation, the gender pay gap, and a great difference in women’s political representation (Joan Acker, 1989).

America was founded in 1776, but it wasn’t until more than 150 years later when women were even allowed to vote. Although we have come a long way since then, women in this country are still not equal to men. The wage gap is a commonly cited example of this, but it’s not what it seems to be. On first glance it seems that women are paid only 79 cents to a man’s dollar, and

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.

“Imagine you 're a little girl. You 're growing up. You practice as hard as you can, with girls, with boys. You have a dream. You fight, you work, you sacrifice to get to this stage. You work as hard as anyone you know. And then you get to this stage, and you 're told you 're not the same as a boy. Almost as good, but not quite the same. Think how devastating and demoralizing that could be” Venus Williams. For years, women have worked as hard as men to get an education, get their dream job, or even get a promotion in a job they are currently at so they can earn less pay than a man and not even know it. They take on these important roles and titles as a manager or take on more jobs than they can handle to prove they are worthy as the next guy and to receive no raise or still underpaid to the guy who does not work as hard or have the same job title. However, women and men have begun to see this a problem and started to work together to make a change. Women makeup over half the workforce and are seen, if not equal, or are the breadwinner in four out of ten families (About Pay Equity & Discrimination 1). Women in the workforce should earn the same pay as men because they work hard to get an education, their race should not play into an effect, and they support a family.

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.

Unfortunately, it has been proven through a multitude of research that the average female makes about 79% of the amount that their male counterpart would make. Even after achieving the victory of making jobs for women a norm, women still struggle with the male advantage. As Susan B. Anthony continued in Suffrage and the Working Woman, “When she has attained ability to compete with them and to do just as well in every respect she is placed at work, if at all, on half pay” (Anthony). Although some argue that the gender pay gap is nothing but a myth, the statistical facts show otherwise. While those in positions of power and privilege attempt to thrust this issue out of the picture, it remains a large problem that no woman should be unaware of. Unequal pay is a common issue for plenty of women for far too long, and must be

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.

Pay equity, another form of discrimination, is a concern throughout America. On average, women continue to earn much less than men earn (while performing the same work). There are two primary reasons for this travesty: Women anticipate shorter and more sporadic work lives, and women, on average, have less work experience than men (Kim). Women should receive equal pay for equal work despite any circumstances. In 2015, women earned a mind-boggling seventy-nine cents for every dollar that a man earned. This statistic demonstrated that there is a gender wage gap of almost twenty percent. Moreover, women must work until April 12th of a given year to earn what men earned in the previous year. To make matters worse, equal pay day for minority women

From short stories like “The Yellow Wallpaper,” to the court cases like Ellen Pao’s Suit vs. Kleiner Perkins, and even a data book like Women in the Labor Force, it is clear to see that inequality and mistreatment of women still exists today. People often say that inequality is a thing of the past, however it has been a serious problem since the dawning of civilization itself, and it is still so today. Women are often seen as lesser beings than men, and are treated accordingly. It is getting better, and women are starting to take their rightful places as equals in the workforce, and as equals in general. However, the world still has a long way to go before the inequality and mistreatment of women comes to a complete stop.

America prides itself on equality but no one is truly equal until men and women are not treated the same way and given equal pay for the same work. Unequal pay is a major social injustice that has recently been spreading across the nation. Women have come a long way in American society, they now have the right to vote and are bread winners for many households, but they still have a long way to go. The wage gap in USA as of 2016 is that a woman makes 80 cents to a man’s dollar. This kind of discrimination is extremely prevalent in today’s society and there is no conscious effort being put forward to close the wage gap. It is predicted that the wage gap will be closing in the year 2152, but to get results now and have this discrimination end

In fact, progress for women and minorities in terms of both pay and power has stalled or regressed at many of the nation's biggest companies. This inequality shapes perceptions about who can or should be a leader.” (Hymowitz, 2008) This statement shows applicable reasoning as to why it is necessary to have equal pay between women and men in the workplace. When a company decides they are going to pay someone less money solely based off their gender without regards to their experience, it is discrimination and therefore the company is no longer an equal opportunity employer. Such practices need to be banned so our nation can truly say that we are all equal. Women need to form an alliance to prevent such discrimination from occurring and force our government to prohibit inequality in companies.

For my research question I will be asking: “How is America making progress on gender equity?” Fundamentally, I believe that women are still misrepresented, and are still facing many challenges in the workplace, especially in the business world. The gender stereotypes play a considerable role in the way the society sees women as leaders. However, it will be judicious to consider the small but noticeable changes that have been made over the past years concerning gender equality in the American workplace.

“The wage gap has narrowed by more than one-third since 1960”(Hegewisch, 2010) and “the share of companies with female CEOs increased more than six-fold” (Warner, 2014) since 1997. As well as the truth that men and women’s earnings differ for many other reasons besides the presence of sexism. “Discrimination in labor market, in education/retiring programs, unequal societal norms at home and the constrained decisions men and women make about work and home issues” (Hegewisch, 2010) are also factors that can contribute to the unequal treatment of man and women in the workplace. Yet even with most of these variables removed women are still being paid less than men, sexually harassed in the workplace and hold very little managerial positions.

As many of us know throughout history there have been many inequalities that the world has been faced with; whether it is race, gender, or ethnic background. I am writing you, the representatives for Equal Rights to discuss an urgent concern of American women in the workplace. Although gender inequality is decreasing, it still exists and makes a lot of people suffer its consequences every day. Gender inequality is unfair rights between male and female based on different gender roles which leads to unequal treatment. Gender inequality has been widely known in human history but not until the beginning of the 20th century has the change of