Women 's Equal Pay Act Of 1963

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

April 8 is “Equal Pay Day,” which is an event where the main purpose is to raise awareness in regards to the social problem of the gender wage gap. The president makes his announcement that women still earn only about 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. There are people advocating left and right for women to take a stand and sue their employers for wage discrimination or make demands they want the government to fulfill. The question becomes whether or not what everyone is fighting for is actually true and worth fighting for. Authors Sarah Glynn, Kay Hymowitz, Mark Perry, and Andrew Biggs present a different idea. They all showcase in their articles the underlying factors in the gender wage gap such as college major, career choice, hours worked, job experience, and family circumstances. Discrimination cannot be ruled out completely, but the “77 cent” figure reflects gender differences based on the personal choices that people make about their careers, which results in the gender wage gap we have today. Society has been pointing the finger at discrimination for so long, but today we need to take a second look and come to the conclusion that there could be multiple reasons for the pay gap. This social problem is too complex to focus on only one particular reason.

Throughout the history of the United States, equality for all has been a highly sought-after, yet controversial aspect of American life. Whether it was the period of Native American reorganization or the destructive era of Southern slavery, it has been equality that continues to be denied to a certain group of citizens. In order to combat this, many efforts have been made to influence equality in all elements of citizen’s lives. However, in today’s society, many of these attempts have failed to be noticed, for true equality has yet to be entirely achieved. Notably, working women all over the country have been denied equal wages to that of men. Thus, condoning the use of wage discrimination against women in the workplace is unjust and inequitable because women perform many of the same jobs as men do, they are entitled to the same basic rights as the rest of society, and because laws have already been passed to illegalize wage discrimination based on gender. Both men and women in the labor force are expected of comparable tasks and performances, yet the payment that women receive as compensation remains noticeably less than that of men.

Equality has been a topic of major discussion in the last decade. Equality, which definition consists of the state of being equal or the same, has not had a major impact on gender pay. Men are known to make more money than women simply based on gender. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was supported by President John F. Kennedy to cease the gender pay gap and allow women equal rights in wages as men. Although, it has been fifty four years since The Equal Pay Act of 1963 went into effect, it seems as if the idea for equal pay for women is still not only a topic for debate, but also an issue for women that needs to be resolved.

Many people in the United States are not aware that women still earn considerably less than men or that equal pay is an issue for everyone in this country. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was signed by John F. Kennedy on June 10, 1963 and stated that men and women should be given equal pay for equal work. Although people acknowledge it as an important act, but no one enforces it. People of the working society are face discrimination by race, religion, and gender.

Having the right to equality does not matter on creed, color or religion. It does not

Yes Ms. Kate does have a case, because of the Equal Pay Act of 1963. This Act is a United States federal law which amended the Fair Labor Standards Act that was aimed at stopping wage discrimination based on gender. Ms. Kate was treated unfairly due to her male counterparts being paid the same as she was or more than she was paid.

Throughout history females have often times not been treated fairly compared to their male counterparts. The gender wage gap has been a real and prevalent thing in our society. Even in the present, women are inclined to get lower salaries than men throughout the world, and most importantly the United States where the constitution says “all men are created equal.” All salaries are on a weekly basis and percentages are cents a woman earns per dollar a man earns. Although, there is much we can do as individuals to stop discrimination in the work force. The United States’ wage gap is caused by discrimination against women, who have less opportunities for higher paying jobs, and in order to eradicate this issue in our country and worldwide, women need to be treated impartially in the workforce.

Throughout history females have never been treated fairly compared to their male counterparts. The gender wage gap has been a real and prevalent thing in our society. Even in the present, women are inclined to get lower salaries than men throughout the world, and most importantly the United States where the constitution says “all men are created equal.” All salaries are on a weekly basis and percentages are cents a woman earns per dollar a man earns. Though many are currently working to fix the situation, there is much we can do as individuals to stop discrimination in the work force. The United States’ wage gap is caused by discrimination against women, who have less opportunities for higher paying jobs, and in order to eradicate this issue in our country and worldwide, women need to be treated impartially in the workforce.

Created and perpetuated in part by patriarchal religions and capitalism, the American workplace exemplifies sexism in modern society, contributing to the continuation of women being viewed as subordinate to men (Albee and Perry 145). In 2013, American women earned 82 cents to every dollar that men earned, a discrepancy known as the gender wage gap, and that gap widens for working mothers in the United States. Though mothers comprise a larger percentage of the workforce than do fathers, they loose $141 each week compared to fathers’ average earnings, increasing the yearly wage gap from 12 percent on average to 25 percent for working mothers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). A study conducted by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research used data spanning the 15 years between 1983 and 1998 to conclude that women earned 38 cents to every dollar earned by a man, demonstrating the costs over time of the unequal distribution of family responsibilities (English and Hegewisch 1). On average, women earned $237,592 compared to the men’s average of $722,693 over the 15-year period (2). Despite evidence that approximately half of the gender wage gap can be attributed to normal economic wage fluctuations, an argument often used by those who claim the gap does not exist, sexism has been shown to contribute to the other half (TD Economics 1).

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was the first federal anti-discrimination law that addresses wage differences based on gender (SHRM, nd). Generally speaking, there should be no unequal wages paid to women and men who do jobs that require the same skills. Consequently, why is this still a big topic, even in the 21st century? The truth is, salary data is still a topic not openly discussed and women and minorities are not aware of the wage gap. Although, women make up half of the workforce, they are still underpaid when compared with male workers. Today, the workforce has changed drastically, but our labor laws have not kept up with the trend. As I researched the topic for this assignment, I have identified several key points that I would use to evaluate

Men shouldn’t be supreme in the workforce while women continue to struggle with the unequal gap in pay. Women are not objects and shouldn’t be dominated by rule-bound policies that widen the forty percent gap. Discrimination shouldn’t affect our wages, “the fact that men and women rarely share job positions implies some scope for employers devaluation of work that is predominantly performed by women, although the value of this work resembles that of predominantly male tasks” (Hultin and Szulkin 145). Once we decide to value work from men more than women, we become inhumane, pay should

Women earn less than men. In fact, in America, a woman earns an average of 79 cents to her male coworker’s dollar. Many people see this statistic and think that 21 cents is nothing to fuss over, but the truth is that “the cumulative impact of lower wages throughout women’s careers is devastating, costing a woman working full time, year-round close to half a million dollars over the course of her career” (“New Report”). Although the inferior treatment of women in the workplace is an unfortunate reality, there are many groups and organizations working to empower women and do something about the gender pay gap.

For several decades, most American women occupied a supportive, home oriented role within society, outside of the workplace. However, as the mid-twentieth century approached a gender role paradigm occurred. The sequence of the departure of men for war, the need to fill employment for a growing economy, a handful of critical legal cases, the Black Civil Rights movement seen and heard around the nation, all greatly influenced and demanded social change for human and women’s rights. This momentous period began a social movement known as feminism and introduced a coin phrase known in and outside of the workplace as the “wage-gap.”

“As Women Take Over A Male Dominated Field, The Pay Drops.” by Claire Cain Miller appeared in the March 18, 2016 issue of The New York Times. Claire Cain Miller is a correspondent for The New York Times, where she writes about gender, families and the future of work. In this article, Miller explains how work done by women is not valued as highly as men. Miller insists that when women enter fields with greater numbers, the pay declines. Also, when women and men share the same occupation, women make less money.