The Problem Of The Wage Gap

Even though there is an Elimination Act of all forms of discrimination against women in 1979 the United States still continue to bridge a gap in wages. When you look at the wage gap you can clearly see the difference in gender and it is much worse for people of color. The wage gap is not just a gender issue it also affects racial minorities. Asian American women experience the smallest gender pay gap. The Hispanic and Latina women had the largest gap with 54 percent of what the white men were paid in 2013. The gender pay gap for American Indian and Alaska Native women has went down to 60 and 59 percent in 2013. As for African American women they are paid 64 percent of what white men were paid in 2013 and white women were paid 78 percent of what white men were paid ( Catherine, H). Over the years the wage gap is in fact improving but only by a small percentage. In 2012 the wage gap was 77% and in 2013 the

In the United States, high standard of living is not equally shared with in the Americans. The 1970s and 1990s was period where economic inequality began to grow. Emmanuel Saez, an economics professor at UC Berkeley has been doing a research for the U.S. income inequality. He states that there has been an increase since the 1970s, and has reached levels that have not been seen since 1928. “In 1928, the top 1% of families received 23.9% of all pretax income, while the bottom 90% received 50.7%. But the Depression and World War II dramatically reshaped the nation’s income distribution, by 1944 the top 1%’s share was down to 11.3%, while the bottom 90% were receiving 67.5%, levels that would remain more or less constant for the next three decades. But starting in the mid- to late 1970s, the uppermost percent income share began rising dramatically, while that of the bottom 90% started to fall.”(DeSilver) Ever since then, economic inequality continues to increase, especially in the last three decades.

There is no doubt that wealth inequality in America has been escalating quickly; the portion of total income earned by the top one percent has doubled since the beginning of the 1970’s. The wealthy are the main beneficiaries

The highest earning fifth of U.S. families earned 59.1% of all income, while the richest earned 88.9% of all wealth. A big gap between the rich and poor is often associated with low social mobility, which contradicts the American ideal of equal opportunity. Levels of income inequality are higher than they have been in almost a century, the top one percent has a share of the national income of over 20 percent (Wilhelm). There are a variety of factors that influence income inequality, a few of which will be discussed in this paper. Rising income inequality is caused by differences in life expectancy, rapidly increases in the incomes of the top 5 percent, social trends, and shifts in the global economy.

In order to reverse the income gap, education costs must be lowered to create more equalized classes, infrastructure within the country needs to be increased to employ more people, and the national minimum wage must be raised.

In the Huffington post “Women still face a persistent and troubling confidence gap, study reveals” by Emily Peck focuses on confidence of women and how wage gap are related. She states there is a study that reveals confidence issues in women, yet fails to reveal who conducts the study and what it direct data. Peck also argues gender discrimination and wage gap is a major reason why women aren’t as successful as men. Peck uses the ideas of a confidence gap to drawn the attention of women and confident lacking people to talk about the related topic wage gap. “Success correlates just as closely with confidence as it does with competence”, write author Katty Kay and Claire Shipman thus confidence is a barrier along with discrimination to the success

Income inequality has steadily risen throughout time in the United States. The article which I read was written by Jeff Guo of the Washington post and explained how when the United states was colonizing as a nation they were one of the most egalitarian places in the world to one of the least in present time. When the colonies began, there was ample land and wages that kept the classes close together, but as time moved forward a large inequality through income arose and created the issues that are present today. In the article he speaks how the United States during the times when their industrial power was rising most Americans were beginning to become much more

Today, America is considered one of the most developed and advanced country in the world. On top of everything, this promised country is well-known for its strong and effective economic free-market system. The foundation of the United States is based on the belief of freedom and equality, which is enjoyed and practiced by most of people in the “Country of Liberty.” Unfortunately, the idea of equality does not apply to every citizen of the U.S. In fact, the problem of inequality in America has remained a controversial issue for centuries. Specifically, today, the gap of wealth between people in the United States is dramatically increasing. Emmanuel Saez, an economics professor at UC-Berkeley states that: “Wealth inequality in exploding, constituting a direct threat to the cherished American ideals of meritocracy and opportunity.” Wealth inequality is undoubtedly the biggest problem the American society is facing.

Today, the workforce is unfair; genders are not treated equally. Women are paid less than men for a variety of reasons. Whether it be discrimination, tradition, or simply the effects of the wage gap beginning right out of college, women are underpaid.

Economic and income equality have risen significantly in the United States over the years. In 2013, the top 1% accounted for roughly 20% of America’s income, before taxes. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the average income of the top 1% of America’s population has “grown by 275 percent between 1979 and 2007,” even after taxes. In stark contrast, the middle class has experienced growth of about 40 to 60% and the lowest income population has only experienced growth of about 18%. This resulted in the richest households nearly tripling their share of the country’s income while the majority struggled to keep up.

Many believe they are living in a country that helps the deprived succeed, but in one specific area the underprivileged are the ones oppressed. Much is unknown about how wages are distributed between coworkers. In the land of the free, one should be able to question their employer and not be at risk of getting fired from their job or reaping retributions from asking questions about pay. When women are forced to think of asking such questions, it denies the equality that women have tried for generations to achieve. At odds with what the United States preaches about “equality” in today’s modern society, men are still receiving higher pay than their women colleagues for the same work produced at the same job place.

Obviously, the wage gap is an issue. However, this goes further than just a moral issue or anything of the sort. It has bridged the gap with politics. Being against closing the wage gap is very conservative,

One of the biggest issues facing the U.S. today is the lack of a living wage. The level of inequality in the United States today is obscene. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the top 1/10 of 1% owns almost

Even before the initial shift of women out of their households and into the work place tensions have always existed. Men were always considered smarter, faster and more competent at home and in their jobs and the shift for woman into the outside workforce was not a want but necessary during war times. As the times changed and women gained more education and confidence in their abilities, they were able to position themselves in more important roles or jobs physically, but that did not mean that the stigma had changed. Women were and still are often mistreated or harassed on the job and made to feel inferior to their male coworkers or supervisors. Women made exponential progress in the 1970’s and 1980’s moving into male dominated careers but that plateaued in the 1990’s and while there are more educated women than there are of men the wage gap is still significant.

The wage gap exists since roughly ninety-five percent of starting salaries is based on male and female college graduates major (Browne 788+). Men and women have different interest that causes them to choose an occupation based on their abilities for a particular career (Browne 769+). Browne declares that women exhibit “person orientated” skills because women outperform men in task such as verbal abilities and computational tasks (772+). Browne declares the men exhibit “thing orientated” skills because men outperform women in mathematical tasks and mechanics (772+). Browne claims, “Much of the wage gap, like the glass ceiling, is thus related either directly or indirectly to marriage and families” (787+). Women are not willing to relocate and