Women's Pay In The 1940s

Since 1942, gender inequality, at least in pay, can be traced. In 1942 the National War Labor Board issued a general order that authorized employers to make voluntary adjustments in salaries or pay in order to demonstrate gender equality (at least in jobs were women and men worked the exact same job and had comparable quality and quantity of work) (CNN). Rates of women in labor unions

Gender equality is something that has been a problem through the ages. Susan B. Anthony and many others fought for the right to vote which was granted in 1920. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law stating that no employer can discriminate based on gender. The American Association of University Women published a graph on Women’s Median Annual Earnings as a Percentage of Men’s Median Annual Earnings for Full-time, Year-round Workers, 1974-2014 and it shows that in 1974, women were paid 59% of what men were paid. The graph shows the improvements over the years and that in 2014, women were paid 79% of what men were paid. The gap has not budged since 2014. The gender pay gap has improved over the years, but it will not close until new legislation passes.

An important federal employment law that all employees and employers should be aware of is the Equal Pay Act of 1963. As conversed in week nine of class discussion and video lecture, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 ends wage disparity based on sex. The main goal of this act was to ban discrimination in wages, benefits, and pensions based the gender of an employee in any place of employment. Women traditionally earned less than men for doing similar work. The United States has had a long history of knowledge of unequal pay between men and women, but it was not until around World War II that the problem arose and women started fighting for their rights on this issue. Women have tried passing several bills to help close this pay gap throughout the 1950’s, but ended up in failure.

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.

Luckily for women, the American Women’s rights progressed tremendously since the late 1800’s, and the turning point for females was The Equal Pay Act in 1963. Women wanted more than their primary responsibilities of taking care of the home, children, and family. Although this law contributed significant changes in the development of the women in the workforce, it did come with unethical wages.

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

In 1942, the National War Labor Board urged employers to voluntarily equalize wage and salary rates for women to meet the wages of men. The Equal Pay act was signed in 1963, making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who hold the same job and do the same work, but this hasn’t changed much. Two landmark court cases served to strengthen and further define the Equal Pay Act: Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co. (1970), U.S. Court of Appeals for

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 role of women in the work force has been disputed in American since the end of World War II where women were needed in the workforce. It was not till fairly recently have women begun to work in American society. In 1963 the first policy regarding equal pay was introduced opening the gate from other policies, such as Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993. However, women are still being undermined in the work force with the wage gap between women and men. Many argue that a wage gap does exist where women are working hard but getting payed less leading to poverty. On the other hand, others argue that the wage gap is merle a myth and is impractical in today 's society. Contributing factors like

Even though men and women who work in the same work place doing the same exact job should be getting the same exact pay, also known as the Equal Pay Act of 1963, this matter is still a constant battle. For example, women earned 79 cents for every dollar that a man earns (whitehouse.gov). This statistic, referred to as the gender gap, has been reoccurring for decades and although the numbers have changed throughout the years, the gap

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.

Women have made tremendous advances in the last 100 years of American history. In the workforce, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 granted women the right to equal pay for the corresponding job as their male counterparts. Politically, in 1920, women gained the right to vote through the addition of the 19th amendment. In sports, in 1972, finally obtained the right to play of the

President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act (EPA) into law on June 10, 1963. “The act aimed towards stopping wage inequality through not only races but also genders within the United States.” The income difference between a male and a female was substantial. The Equal Pay Act was not the first act to attempt to be passed. In 1942, twenty years earlier Congresswoman Winifred C. Stanley introduced the Prohibiting Discrimination in Pay on Account of Sex Act. This act was not passed. The equal pay for equal work is an idea that people that do the same work, as others will be compensated in the same way. The act was established because women were receiving less pay than men were for the same exact job. After woman starting taking jobs that men were doing while they were men were fighting in wars, woman took their jobs but were being payed a substantial amount less then the men were.

Despite the fact that the Equal Pay Act has been law since 1963, many problems inevitably arise in the administration of equal pay laws (Fisher). It has been estimated that at this current slow rate of progression in closing the gender pay gap it will be 2068 by the time men and women’s wages are equalized. It is clear that the business case, as well as the legislative case, has a significant role to play (Commission Policy Report).