Sex-Based Wage Discrimination Case Study

The gender pay gap is a problem nationwide in the United States. It is a phenomenon that affects women of all education levels, ages, and races. Although it varies in a state-by-state basis, the pay gap is prevalent in all states (Miller, 2017). The issue is also occupation-wide, meaning that nearly every occupation will have a gender gap (Miller, 2017). Statistics from The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap have shown that while an increase in education help women earn more, it does not eliminate the problem all together or close the gap (Miller, 2017). As of recent statistics, women are paid approximately 80 cents for every dollar a man makes, however, the gap is worse for women of color, especially, when compared to the salary of that of white men; African American women earn 63% of the salary that white men earn, Native American women earn 58%, and the largest gap is for Latina women, who earn only 54% (Miller, 2017).

In the 2009 article of Modern Casting titled “Obama Signs Fair-Pay Act”, a report is given about President Obama signing his first bill into law showing his dedication to the labor agenda. It was called the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, with its primary purpose being to increase the time restrictions previously set forth for employees bringing equal pay claims against their employers. Legislated in 1963, The Equal Pay Act was put in place to decrease the pay gap between males and females. The act prohibits gender-based pay discrimination by requiring organizations to pay men and women doing the same job the same rate of pay (Gilley, 2009). But this was not limited to wages alone, also included in the Equal Pay Act are all associated pay benefits such as insurances, retirement plans, severance pay, stock options and more.

In the year 2009, former president Obama created the White House Council on Women and Girls. By definition, “is to ensure that each of the agencies in which they’re charged takes into account the needs of women and girls in the policies they draft, the programs they create, the legislation they support... (The White House Council on Women and Girls)” Obama noticed the issues between economic equality especially in women of color. With African American women earn 61 cents and Hispanic women earning 52 cents for every dollar paid to Caucasian men. By former President Obama signed the first piece of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to correct this unconstitutional

In January 2009, President Barack Obama signed The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act alongside Lilly Ledbetter, an equal pay activist. This Act allowed women and men to receive the same pay regardless of any reasoning. In his speech, President Obama personally thanked Ledbetter for her effort on being an advocate for the equality of American workers, especially women (Obama). Eight years in and significant parts of the population are still frustrated over uneven pays in the United States and around the world.

In 2014, female full-time workers made only 79 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 21% according to IWPR Org or Institute for Women’s Policy Research. There is no debate that in the past women have been discriminated against when it came to compensation and wages in the workforce which led to the enactment of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. This a federal law signed by John F Kennedy attempting to amend wage disparity based on sex, under this law, it is still illegal for employers to discriminate wages by sex for the same amount of work, which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and are performed under similar working conditions with the exception of seniority system, merit system, or based on quantity or quality of production. With all these laws and statistics, the raw differences between the gender wage gap can be attributed to the differences in choices made by an individual.

As a future working woman, I have come to realize that the work I have done thus far for my career will simply not be adequate. I will not at any given point deem myself less valuable than any of my future male co-workers, who are on the same standing as I am. Yet despite similar testimonies, many American women today still face pay discrimination which has grown to become a major dilemma that shortchanges these women as well as their families.

“They” say, “We’ve come a long way baby!” “They” are both correct and incorrect at the same time. While it is true that women have come a long way from June Cleaver and the typical 50’s housewife to the modern two parent working household, statistically, it would take women approximately one extra day of work per week to earn the same as their male counterpart. So, while women have begun to work in higher paying professional and managerial jobs that before were typically held by men; they are paid less. This is gender discrimination and is commonly known as the Gender Wage Gap. There are many arguments as to why there is a wage gap between men and women; there are those who argue that women are taking lower-paying jobs, so they can attend to the needs of their families. Others argue that women are purposely choosing fields that pay less. One thing is clear, though: a gender wage gap exists, and if steps are not taken to remedy this situation, women may never see equal pay for equal work.

Purpose: The purpose is to highlight the gender wage gap and focus on the discrimination against working women

The pay gap between men and women has fallen quite dramatically over the past 30 years though a sizeable gap still remains, but this headline figure masks some less positive developments in recent years. We are used to each generation of women making progress relative to the one before, but this process has slowed slightly with the better than the previous one(Centre Piece Summer 2006).

urpose: The purpose is to highlight the gender wage gap and focus on the discrimination against working women

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed gender discrimination (Macionis, 2012). That is, employers cannot discriminate when setting pay for men and women (Macionis, 2012). Although these laws exist in the United States, median wages for women amounts to seventy-nine percent of median wages for men (Hirschfeld Davis, 2016). As a result, President Barack Obama signed an executive law that will close gender pay gap with mandatory reporting and penalize companies that engage in discriminatory pay practices (Hirschfeld Davis, 2016).

Throughout history, women have typically been undermined and denied the same equal rights as men. From the Equal Pay Act to the Paycheck Fairness Act, women have fought an uphill battle for their gender equality. Women earn less than men in almost every job occupation regardless of their race, age, ethnicity, or academic credibility. Most often, the emphasis that women place on family—leading to breaks in employment and a desire for more flexible working hours—negatively impacts their career trajectory, and is correlated with issue of the nationwide wage gap.

For decades, the gender wage-gap has been an ongoing issue in Canada. Since then, women’s rights have changed and allowed them to obtain career positions much like men. Although women have successfully fought for their rights, the issues of the gender wage gap, and sexist stereotypes continue in Canada. The Canadian Government needs to strengthen its discrimination policies so it can rectify and allow for equal opportunity, support parental leave, and narrow the gender wage-gap.

Has anybody really thought about how people in this world are treated based on certain stereotypes? Since the beginning of time women have been struggling for their own personal equality. After reading “The gap between male and female pay”, by Caitlyn Peterkin, I was surprised to see that even with equal educations, Women earn substantially less than men annually. I think the main intention is to inform people on just the statistics and does not effectively persuade the reader to believe in what she is saying. I do not think that is fair because women are just as intelligent and have an equal amount of work ethic. Why would they be paid less? I think that people can notice that women’s equality has gone up a large amount but it is still

1. Should transgender employees be considered by the courts to be a protected class under Title VII 's prohibition of sex discrimination in the workplace?