The Importance Of Closing The Wage Gap For Women

The current Equal Pay Day, April 12, 2016, is a national reminder to bring attention to how far into a next year a woman must work to catch up to what a man earned the previous year. Unlike most recognized holidays, it is not a day of celebrating, but a day to bring recognition to the ongoing wage gap issues. One of the steps taken to better the wage gap is the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay act was signed on January 29, 2009 by president Obama, The law was named after a woman who found out that her employer was paying less than men do for the same job (Somanader).

A federal law that let female federal workers equal pay and equal work is passed. Even though it was passed, it was leaving out majority of female workers who work for private corporations and or state and local governments until the adoption of the Equal Pay Act in 1963. Many holes where made and sealed but in

Before 1880, women did not have as many rights as they do today in the United States of America. Women were not able to initiate divorce; they did not have custody over their children; they were not entitled to their own wages; they could not vote; etcetera. This movement was necessary to create a more just and fair society for Americans because women deserved to be treated as well as men were. These things were changed as a result of many suffragists who fought for women’s rights for years. Three women who devoted their lives to gaining equal rights for women were Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Without these women among others, women in America would not be treated as they are today.

It has been more than fifty years since the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was enacted, yet gender pay gap still exists today. According to National Women’s Law Center, women are paid only 80 cent for every dollar their male counterpart are paid. According to American Association of University Women, the total estimated loss of earnings for women compared to men over the course of 45 years are $700,000 for a high school graduate, $1.2 million for a college graduate, and $2 million for a professional school graduate. Although there are many factors that are responsible for gender pay gap, 40% of the pay gap is due to discrimination according to a report by the Joint Economic Committee Democratic Staff. By discriminating women, we, as a society, are telling

“A man’s worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.” (Marcus Aurelius) Can ambition provide a driving force for something good? Or is it manipulated by powerful people who have desires for evil? In this quote, Marcus Aurelius, former Roman emperor, is trying to say every person has the ambition to do something; however, whether it’s for good or evil is up to them. Also, when he says a man's worth, he does not mean only men’s worth, but that all men and women are portrayed by their ambitions.

The average woman in the United States makes approximately $82.90 for every dollar their male counterparts make. (Elsesser). While those 20 cents may seem inconsequential to you, they add up. Losing that much money all year can be the difference between someone living in poverty, and someone living a nice life. The gender pay gap is the cause of this problem. Around the world, women are losing money just because of what gender they are. The gender wage gap is a huge problem, that can only be solved by going to extreme measures, such as requiring people to release their employees wage gap and passing new laws.

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).

Luckily for women, the American Women’s rights progressed tremendously since the late 1800’s, and the turning point for females was The Equal Pay Act in 1963. Women wanted more than their primary responsibilities of taking care of the home, children, and family. Although this law contributed significant changes in the development of the women in the workforce, it did come with unethical wages.

Simultaneously, the gender pay gap has financial effects not just on the women, yet their families too. Studies have shown that American families with children count on a women’s earnings as a massive part of their family’s income, and many are the head of the household. Data demonstrates that “seventy percent of mothers with children under 18 participate in the labor force, with over 75 percent employed full-time. Mothers are the primary or sole earners for 40 percent of households with children under 18 today, compared with 11 percent in 1960. Women’s participation in the U.S. labor force has climbed since WWII: from 32.7 percent in 1948 to 56.8 percent in 2016” (Dewolf). Now women make up more than half of the U.S. workforce, the gap in earning deciphers to $7968 per year in median earnings for a high school graduate, $11,616 for a college graduate, and $19,360 for a professional school graduate. By and large, this gap effects hundreds of millions of women and their families, and lag them back hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout their life.

When looking into characters, both superficially and deeper, it is common to see some reflection of the author’s beliefs and experiences within those characters. After all, in a fiction story, the author is the creator. These characters are not created out of nothing. The birth of the characters in the novel The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway serve to act out parts of him he was not allowed to express. Within the story, written in 1926, each character faces their own moral and social struggles, but act as a group in reflection of Hemingway’s psyche. The story remains considerably brief, but within its short pages is the entirety of just whom Hemingway was. In accordance with the time period and his upbringing, Hemingway was denied many

According to the Center for American Progress Organization there are seven vital steps that can be taken in order to decrease the gender wage gap. Firstly, this organization firmly believes that raising the minimum wage will positively affect the wage gap between men and women. Averages illustrate that differentiation 's among men and women 's job selections could be considered for virtually half of the gender pay gap. Increasing the minimum wage will benefit those dedicated women laborers by helping support their families. Two third of mothers are sole providers within their households and these same women are the ones, who made up relatively two-thirds of all minimum-salaried employees in the year 2012 (Glynn, Fisher & Baxter, 2014). In 2014, the minimum wage was only $7.25 an hour which means that a person, who works full-time would only bring in $15,080 over the course of a year. This is not enough for an individual, who has a family to live on because in actuality it is barely enough for a single person to survive on. This particular organization feels if the minimum-wage is increased to at least $10.10 an hour, then it would benefit around 15 millions women and also help narrow the pay gap that exists between men and women. Secondly, the Center for American Progress Organization believes that increasing the tipped minimum salary would close the gender pay gap, as well. The minimum tip wage has not been altered since the year 1991 and it only rewards employees $2.13 a

In the 21st Century the number of women enrolling in higher education institutions is surpassing the numbers of men enrolled. The graduation rates of women from high school and higher education are most often higher than for men. The number of women graduates from most professional occupations, including higher paying medicine, law and business, will exceed the number of men graduates in the near future. In numerous occupational areas with a majority of women graduates, salaries already surpass salaries in occupational areas with a majority of men graduates.

It is important to address the systemic inequalities of the gender pay gap. To do this, this essay will use Bacchi (2006) approach to analyse the text “Speech to HRINZ: The reasons for the Gender Pay Gap” by MP Paula Bennett. This essay will illustrate the theoretical perspective of liberal feminism to show the understanding of the problem, and the solutions of the gender pay gap. This essay will also look at two other theoretical perspectives, social democratic, and anti-racism and discuss their viewpoints and solutions towards the problem.

Literature is representative of the time in which it is produced. Literature can reflect societal views, attitudes, and fears.Vampire literature, in particular, often represents the fears of a society.In the Victorian Era, a time of intense sexual repression, it was common for vampire stories to reflect the fear of sexuality that was rampant in society.

     “April third has been declared by Feminist and labor groups as ‘Equal Pay Day’ because it supposedly takes 93 calendar days for women’s wages to catch up to men’s.” 3 Many people believe that sex discrimination is the main reason for the pay gap. However, several factors must be taken into consideration.