Occupational Pay Thesis

As long as an American woman is putting in the same amount of hours with the same qualifications and experience in the same occupation as an American male, and yet taking home a wage that is any lower, she is not being treated fairly as an equal. Contrary to many arguments, it’s undeniable that a wage gap exists, and while there are various ideas as to the most probable cause, there is no reason why this gap should continue to go uncorrected or unchanged. Our government should take concrete steps to close the gender wage gap because it violates women’s rights and equality.

It is not up for debate whether women are discriminated against in the workplace, it is evident in census data; in 2013, among full-time, year-round workers, women were paid 78 percent of what men were paid. It is said that the organizations that are pro-equal pay, including some unions, support the idea that the government should set wages for all jobs. To the contrary, the organizations that are proponents of equal pay are not for job wages being set by the government-they wish to have the discrimination taken out of pay scales from within the company. Commonly, this pay gap is attributed to the fact that women in the United States are still expected to attend to familial obligations over work.

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,

After years of Civil Rights Movements and Pay Equity Acts, as of 2014, women still only make 79 cents to a man 's every dollar. Although the wage gap has shrunk since the 1970’s, progress has recently stalled and chances of it vanishing on its own is unlikely. The gains that American women have made towards labor market experience and skills is tremendous. In fact, women account for 47% of labor workforce and 49.3% of American jobs. But despite of women’s strides, a gender pay gap still exists. Experts suggest that it will take 100 years to close the gap at the rate employers and legislators are working to create solutions. But by allowing women to work in higher paying positions and by proposing and updating pay equity laws, the gender gap can finally be diminished.

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

Thesis: The gender pay gap in the United States is an understated misconception to many men and women today. This paper will overview the reality, causes, statistics, and those being affected by gender pay gap, as well as what this issue means for the future of the United States of America.

Women have made significant strides in society, proving themselves to be as capable as men in the workforce. However, while women are making equal contributions, men and women are not earning equal wages. Even though the Equal Pay Act was established in 1963, women continue to earn lower wages than men over half a century later. This inequality not only affects women as individuals but has a detrimental effect on the national economy. The gender wage gap in the United States should end because it is unjust; correcting it would have social and economic benefits for the U.S.

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

Equality of wages in America is of high concern and has been for a long period of time. On no account of America’s history, have women and men’s wages ever been equal, rather they have always had a significant gap between them. This has seen women as undervalued, causing a lot of discrimination and hardship in the workplace for women. Especially for women of color the wage gap is even larger. The pay gap in America affects women of all ages, races, and education levels but what can they do to close it?

The pay gap between genders exhibits sexism in America yet some researchers are in denial. Warren Farrell, expert on gender issues within legislation and former board member of National Organization for Women, claims otherwise. In his book Why Men Earn More, he attributes difference in wages to females choosing human resources jobs, which pay less, and not choosing harsher jobs that pay more (Farrell). His overall point is that men sacrifice more thus companies pay more for those sacrifices. His argument only compares the genders when different job requirements alter wages, but does not mention wages of identical jobs.

It is a constant battle women still have to face living in the 20 century of the unfair treatment between men and women. Two factors that are most often understood to demonstrate the inequality are occupational segregation and wage disparity. In 1960 women protested their dissatisfaction regarding the huge gender disparities in pay and advancement at the workplace. At the time women faced several difficulties in the workforce, on average women were being paid 60 percent of the male rate, not including the sexual harassment and having to deal with discrimination

Throughout the history of the world, women have been discriminated against in all forms, especially in the workplace; this includes unequal pay and much more. Even though America is advancing and changing to provide equality to every individual, there are still many countries in which women are still looked down upon simply because of their gender. Discrimination against women in the workplace is not only taking place in America but also many parts of the world. Women who are well educated and equally trained in their field are paid less than men who are sometimes not even educated enough or well trained for the same job. There are many studies which show the difference between the pay gap between men and women; these studies are sometimes done to show the systemic discrimination that women face in the workforce. One of the main issue with income inequality between men and women are simply because women are seen as the weaker sex when it comes to working; because of this, woman earns less money at their jobs than men. The purpose of this research is to provide insight into the income inequality between women and men. This research will use many scholarly works to prove my hypothesis on the matter. In a way women being paid less than men depend on their gender and any change in gender directly affect the way they are being paid or their income.

Women have not always been as respected in society as they are now. In early America, women were banned from participating in most parts of society and their lives were mainly controlled by their fathers and husbands. While the women’s rights movement can be tracked as far back as 1850 is wasn’t until the early 1960s that

The man went to work, make all financial decisions, where the women were expected to be the housekeeper. As the acceptance of women in the workplace grew, it was still considered a male domain where women would have menial tasks where their aspirations would have been to rise to the position of a secretary.