Unit 1 Assignment Report

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.

One problem that Americans are facing is the inequality between men and women, whether it is in everyday life or in a professional atmosphere. One step that has been taken toward equality was introduced with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, signed by President John F. Kennedy. This law was the first affecting the amount of job opportunities available for women and allowing them to work in traditionally male dominated fields. On the outside, this would sound like a solution where nothing could possibly go wrong, but it is not.

The gender wage gap has been a substantial subject that has had numerous studies done, that included extensive debates and commentary for the past three centuries. In fact, the gender wage gap predominantly affects women. For example, in 2003 people reported that women make eighty cents for every dollar men make(Gender Pay 8). For one thing, women should not be getting paid less for doing the same job as men. The individual hired at the same time as another individual should receive the same starting pay until it is shown they deserve more pay than they are receiving. If the wage gap continues to grow at the rate it has been, it will be another fifty years before women make the same as men (Discrimination 1). The workforce has grown a considerable

The data shows that women earn only 76 cents for each dollar earned by male coworkers. Women work just as hard as men, the pay gap is too wide, and job rates are going down. Women should be getting payed the same as men.

However, men still tend to receive more pay for the same jobs than women. This disparity has continued for many years in spite of the ongoing public outcry that women deserve equal pay for equal work. The vast difference in pay has been reasoned and explained more than once throughout the years since it was first brought to attention of the general public. At this time however no explanation has been forthcoming that can adequately explain the reason behind the wage gap, nor why it persists.

This study takes a look at the wage gap between women and men. It has always been known that men make more money than women. Many acts of legislation have been passed to address the disparities. But as time has progressed this topic is not one that grasps the attention of society. Society feels that there are other more important topics to focus on. The inequities amongst men and women pay has been in effect from the early 1800s and continues on in the new millennium despite, the gains women have made. And unfortunately the millennium women have many challenges that still lie ahead. This study has shown the transition from the early 1800s up until now and in the 21st century we are still dealing with inequities when it

This is an example of what some women in America face. Some people deny the existence of a wage gap while others argue that a change must be made for equality in this facet of the workforce. There have been many actions taken to give women equality, but there are still places where that has yet to be realized. Looking at both sides of the argument is helpful in learning the conditions under which the wage gap exists and the efforts to come to a conclusion or conclusions to benefit all parties involved. It is an issue that even the current president of the United States has voiced his concerns for. In this paper, we will be looking at the benefits and disadvantages that come from closing the wage gap.

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

Generally speaking, women earn approximately $.77 compared to their male counterparts (Kessler, 2014). The article, however, tends to focus on the dispute this notion (Kessler, 2014). The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics states that if weekly wages are analyzed, the gap lessens to 19 cents (Kessler, 2014). Similarly, if the hourly wages are analyzed, the wage gap further decreases to 14 cents (Kessler, 2014). The article then further examines the difficulties in assessing this aspect of gender inequality (Kessler, 2014). For example, if part time workers were included in the analysis, the gap would widen to about 27.7 cents (Kessler 2014). The article also covers several different factors that may influence the gap and examines each in a great amount of detail. Topics such as the amount of hours worked, the amount of work experience, the type of work (whether part time or full time), and whether someone leaves the work force for a period of time, et cetera, are issues that are addressed (Kessler 2014). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there is practically no wage gap between unmarried women and men, the former earning approximately 96 cents for every dollar made by man (Kessler 2014). Granted, this particular research reinforces my old stance, by laying credence to the complexity of the topic. Depending on what information is taken into

The Equal Pay Act sounds fair, but after fifty years, the wage gap between the sexes is still very wide. In 2013, among full-time, year-round workers, women were paid 78 percent of what men were paid (AAUW). It also should be taken into account that the wage gap differs between states, and the women studied. For example, women of color experience a larger pay gap than any other group. This is evident when you see that Hispanic women make 54 percent of what a white man does. It is also important to point out that the wage gap between the sexes grows with age; after women hit the age of 35, the difference in pay goes from 90 percent to 75 to 80 percent. Studies have shown that this is because women are expected to have a family, and take care of it, which decreases the amount of work hours they can put

Explanations for this pay gap come far and wide and are cited in various publications within numerous fields worldwide. Most research point toward existing gender bias and discrimination. Due to workplace biases women are earning 20 percent less than men on average. Women face unfair barriers in the workplace. Reasons for the pay gap also include shifts in supply and demand for employers, unfair wage determination practices, unequal time taken away from work to care for families, and differences in work credentials such as education and experience. The best way to close the gender pay gap is to focus on correcting the biggest factors causing this

The United States began its focus on wage inequality in 1963, when the United States Congress introduced the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. In hopes to strengthen the new legislation, the United States Congress also passed the Fairness Paycheck Act, which had help better prevent employers from committing wage discrimination. Before both Acts, women on average earned 59 cents for every dollar a man made. After these laws were legislated, women’s relative earnings steadily increased during the 70s and 80s. Besides governmental laws and regulations help in narrowing gender wage inequality,

Wage gap is an important reality that women constantly have to face in their everyday work lives. “The wage gap is a statistical indicator often used as an index of the status of women’s earnings relative to men’s” (The Wage Gap, 2015). It has been a major issue for many decades and it is often experienced by women in many traditionally male dominated industries. The problem may seem to be diminishing, however there is still a significant gender wage gap that can allow us to see that the issue has yet to be resolved. In addition, this topic is very important for employers and employees to be aware of and for them to know how to handle this issue if it arises.

Another thing to point out is that more women are graduating with college degrees than men in a recent study it showed how fifty seven percent of people in college were women as opposed to male. Recently “President Obama is trying to get the senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to make it easier for women to defend themselves against gender discrimination.” Also the Equal Rights Amendment is also trying to work itself into play to help our generations women against such discrimination. Women should get equal pay as men because women may be just as qualified as men and get paid less as male. “From last years Census Bureau the wage gap between a teenage male and a teenage female was twenty two percent stimulating that a female earns twenty two cents less than the male in a full time job setting.” When you factor in other stipulations the gap may be lower but it still exists this is the problem at hand. In technology areas the pay gap between men and women 2,500 and if that woman has a child then the gap goes up to 11,000. Women deserve higher pay in society do same amount of work as men. Depending on a woman 's marital status, education, how many hours worked, age, and area of location the wage gap can be between seven and twelve percent.Yes, women have progressed to reduce this percentage but they need to work much harder to prove themselves in this male

After analyzing the history of the gender wage gap, the paper will now look at the current state of the issue. The percentage of female earnings compared to male earnings increased from around 60 percent in 1980 to 77 percent in 2010, according to National Compensation Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Blau and Kahn 2000). The gap was larger for African-American and Hispanic women, who earned only 70% and 61% respectively of what white men earned. As a result, April 20, 2011 was known as Equal Pay Day, which is the approximate day the average female employee would