Essay on Where Are Women's Rights?

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.

Women continue to face disadvantages in the workplace in regards to not receiving equal pay as well. There are many instances where women have the same or more qualifications to do a job than their male counterparts but do not receive the same pay. This difference in pay is not only related to gender differences but also racial differences. Women employees of different racial backgrounds tend to earn less money than their white female and male counterparts. Many women of color often face discrimination when applying to jobs and are overlooked for a position despite having the qualifications to do the work. When they are hired to these occupations they are not receiving the same pay as their white female counterparts. This double bind that minority women face within the work place continues to lead to economic hardships. Regarding women in the workplace in general, due to society’s high regard for men they are often not promoted to positions of authority or receive equal pay because people assume that women are inferior workers. (Buchanan, p205-207)

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.

Since the time the United States was founded, women were not given the same rights as men, resulting in many women struggling for years. In the second wave of feminism, “Feminists worked for the Equal Rights Amendment, the Equal Pay Act, the addition of sex discrimination to the Civil Rights Act and other laws that would guarantee equality” (Napikoski, 2016). Despite so much time fighting for the Equal Pay Act, in 2017 there is still a very prominent issue with women not being paid as much as men. Women will do the same job as a male peer, and still be paid less; they even have a lower starting salary than men do. A man can make 6.6% more than a woman will a year

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

Discrimination in the United States, has been, and continues to be a very large problem in our country. Although, the country has continued to make outstanding strides on getting rid of discrimination in this country as a whole, it tends to stick around. One of the largest controversies in the workforce today, is that women are continuing to be discriminated against by receiving less pay than males. This problem of women receiving less pay than males in the workforce is known as the Gender Wage Gap.

Throughout history, discrimination of all forms has been a constant issue. These forms of discrimination include race, gender, religion, beliefs, appearance or anything else that make a person different from the next person. One major discrimination issue that is constantly being dealt with in the world takes place in the work place, equal pay. Women, who work equally hard and are equally trained and qualified as men, are not paid equally to men. This has been an ongoing problem for decades. Studies have proven that African-American women and Latina women make less than 64 cents to every dollar of their male counterparts. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, which became a law in 1963, requires that men and women who do the same job in the same organization should receive the same pay. Many exceptions to the Equal Pay Act have been made though. Some of these exceptions include having seniority, having greater a quality or quantity of production, different factors such as paying extra compensation to overnight workers or less compensation to part-time and temporary workers, and having a better or different job.

Even as far back as the United States independence, women did not possess any civil rights. According to Janda, this view is also known as protectionism, the notion that women mush be sheltered from life's harsh realities. Protectionism carried on throughout the general populations view for many decades until the 1920's when the women's movement started. Women finally received the right to vote in the Nineteenth Amendment. The traditional views of protectionism, however, remained in people's minds until the 1970's (Janda et al, 2000: 538-539).

The American Association University of Women reports that the average full time workingwoman receives just 80% the salary of a man. In 1960, women made just 60% of what men made, an upward trend that can be explained “largely by women’s progress in education and workforce participation and to men’s wages rising at a slower rate”, but a trend that is not yet equal (p. 4). Hill recognizes that the choices of men and women are not always the same, whether it be in college major, or job choice, however she concludes that women experience pay gaps in virtually all levels of education and lines of work. She suggests that continuing to increase the integration of women in predominately male dominated work will help the pay gap, however, she believes that alone won’t be enough to ensure equal pay for women.

One of the most influential writers Adrienne Rich once said, “She is afraid that her own truths are not good enough.” Adrienne Rich talks about women’s role and issues in her essay called “Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying”. She describes how women during the 1977 lied about everything. They lied about their appearance, their job, their happiness, and even about their relationship. Adrienne Rich is one of the most powerful writers, who identifies herself as lesbian feminists. Her work has been acknowledged and appreciated mainly in her poems. Throughout her decades of work as a writer-activist, Rich uses essays, speeches, and conference papers, magazine, articles book reviews, and personal reflection to articulate with

The major issues of Gender Discrimination are seen at the work environments and everyone has to know this particular issue is a serious form of Employment Discrimination. Gender Discrimination is considered as one of the serious illegal and injustice forms with respect to most of the countries worldwide.

Even though it is against the law to pay women a lower wage based on gender, a significant earnings gap exists. Women earn less than men in almost every line of work regardless of age, race, ethnic background or level of education. This study discusses the disparity of income between men and women, and the primary factors that contribute to the disparity. It then looks at some of the legislation that has been passed or is under consideration to address the issue. Finally, it concludes that there are many reasons for the disparity other than gender discrimination. Men and women are motivated by different things and therefore make different choices. Gender discrimination