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.
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.
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.
The gender wage gap has been a nationwide problem since women were able to enter the workforce. Women have begun to speak out more about the issue and evaluate what they can do to change the industries and how they personally present themselves to help this change. Currently there is a wide range of opinions on this issue, with some saying it does not exist while others think it will ruin the economy if not fixed immediately. This makes it more difficult to address the problem and predict how it will be in the future; however, all sides of the spectrum are becoming more aware of what the gender wage gap means and what they can do to change it. This paper will analyze the different stances on the extent of this social issue as well as the current practices being used to increase knowledge and equalize pay for all.
For the first time in history women had surpassed men in the paid labor force. Yet, instead of provoking an equality among the sexes, the figures play no statistical significance, as women still try to bridge the gap between their inequality among their male counterparts. One apparent setback for women in the workplace is their unequal payment, “Women workers are still paid less than men, currently about-three quarters of mens income if they work full time and year round”(Institute for Womens’s Policy Research, 2010). Although there women are beginning to integrate into vastly male populated jobs throughout the labor force “… women in America today earn 78 cents to a man’s dollar, according to the U.S Census Bureau, and have struggled for decades to achieve pay for equal work” (Riley 2). Not only has this pay gap significantly effected the nature of women throughout the county, it has also violated the bill that Congress passed called the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The Equal Pay Act was signed in order to establish a more sound and equal treatment among the sexes. It noted that an employer was unable to discriminate employees on grounds of gender, yet as figures denote today, this bill seems to not possess enough jurisdiction over the wage gap. The wage gap has contributed to various problems within the United States, especially among single mothers who do not have a supporting male figure within their household.
The gender pay gap in the United States forms a slightly mixed feeling. On one hand, after years of opposition to the earnings of women compared to men. There has been a large increase in women's earnings since the 1970s. The gender pay gap in the United States is measured through the female to male average yearly earnings for a full-time, year-round worker. Previously, a woman earned 77 cents for every dollar that a male gets. Since 1980, the gap has narrowed by 16.8 cents, improving from 60.2 cents to 77 cents, as stated by the Institute for Women’s Policy. The current pay gap between female and male is 82 cent for every one dollar. This growth is significant because it opposes the relative stability of the earlier incomes of a woman in the
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
The gender wage gap is the difference in men and women’s annual salaries and can be found in every kind of job at all times. The gap stems from prejudice against women workers, resulting in women receiving less pay than men do for the same work. As of 1999, women make up sixty percent of the workforce and are the main income provider for four of every ten families. Yet, in 2015, the median annual income for women was $40,742 and $51,212 for men. That is eighty percent of what men are earning, or a twenty percent wage gap. In the past half-century there has not been a consistent decrease in the wage gap: in 1960 women were earning sixty-four percent of men’s annual income, in 1978 they were earning fifty-nine percent, and in 2000 they were
A single woman, 2 kids under the age of 18, a high stress work environment, and she still isn’t paid an equal amount as a man with the same job. Millions of women from across the United States have been fighting for equality since the dawn of time. and the results so far have not been outstanding. “If the Gap Were Closed, California Women Could Afford Food for More Than One Year, Four More Months of Mortgage and Utilities, or More Than Six Additional Months of Rent Annually” (California). The ever present pay gap in America is degrading to women in the workforce and should be closed because the gap doesn’t affect just white, single women; it affects all ethnicities, working mothers, and households across the country, although many people will
The gender wage gap in the U.S. has been a topic of debate in politics through most of the 21st century. In 2015, women were paid 80 percent of what men were paid (SIMPLE TRUTH). This number is considerably smaller than that of the 1960’s because of women’s progress in education and participation in the workforce (SIMPLE TRUTH). The wage gap can have adverse lifelong effects on a woman’s life. Because women are paid less than men, a woman will receive less social security, pensions, and other resources when they retire than a man would (Fischer & Hayes, 2013). There is a common stigma that women do not get paid as much as men because they do not ask for higher wages but not everything can be “explained
The gender wage gap is where men get paid more than women for doing the same job. The gender wage gap has been around since 1960, when women began working full time jobs outside the home. When the wage gap between women and men first became apparent, the issue primarily centered around discrimination against women as the “weaker sex”, a social stereotype. Today the issue has become more complex, involving American cultural norms and politics, and concerns that there are glass ceilings within businesses for women. As a result, many people are indecisive when it comes to taking a position on the matter while others are adamantly entrenched in their mind set. The fact of the matter is that women’s wages should match men’s wages whenever performance of duty is equal. The issue is that there should be equal pay for equal work. Wages should be based on education, experience, exposure, and location in that career field.
Now a day we hear a lot about the wage gap between men and women. President of The United States, in the state of the Union, stated that “Women earn much less than men for doing the same amount of the work”. Based on some statistic survey women makes seventy-seven cents on the dollar. The pay gap means women loses about $10,000 in median earning a year [4], if you consider career long-view the gap obstructs wealth building. This is one major concern in today's competitive world, in 2014 Republican National Committee argued that “The difference isn’t because of their genders; it’s because of their jobs.” Where research shows that gender wage gap is real and still exist The question that arises is why there is a wage gap between men and women? The answer to that question is women are more likely to take a break from their careers to take care of their family. This kind of disruption can have an impact on long-term earning.
The Gender Wage Gap is defined as the different amounts of money that is paid to women and men, often for doing the same work. Women who work full time, year round earn 77 cents for every dollar that men earn. Over a year women make $11,500 less than men and throughout their life this wage gap can affect women by making them earn anywhere from $400,000-$2 million less than men do. (Miller 2008, 6) This causes women to have to unfairly face more challenges economically than men do and also makes them have to become more competitive in the workfield. The wage gap varies for women of different races. On average African-American women are paid 60 cents and Latinas are paid 55 cents for every dollar white men make. Over a year this amounts to a
Half of the whole workforce in the United States is made up of women, yet their average pay is more than twenty percent less than a male counterpart (“Pay”)(Claire). If they do ask for a raise, many employers deem them as untrustworthy though many men are more respected. (Claire). Women in the United States make only seventy-eight cents to every man’s dollar (“Pay”). Yet, 49,000,000 children in the U.S. today rely on a female to provide them with food, clothing, and other necessities (“Did”). Women being paid less is caused because of sexism, the history of our nation, and small details that employers find relevant enough to lower a woman’s pay.
While men were more likely to graduate from college in the 1960’s and 1970’s, since the 1990’s, the majority of all undergraduate and graduate degrees have gone to women (www.whitehouse.gov). In the 1960’s and 70’s, women had more of an obligation at home than in the workforce. They were to take care of the children, have a clean home, and a hot meal ready for their husbands for when they got home. The popular television sitcom, I Love Lucy, many times portrayed the distinctive roles of man and woman, and how women’s only job was to be a good housewife. Women were considered ignorant when it came to politics and discussions about the workforce. But this is not the case any more. Women are becoming more educated and involved in these