In 2010, President Obama addressed the issue of the gender wage gap in a written statement that stated “even in 2010, women make only 77 cents for every dollar that men earn”. The president also put pressure on the committee to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act that gives women the right to sue their employees if they’re not being paid the same as men, provided they have the same skills, experience and education. The act takes immediate steps to narrow down the wage gap, if it actually existed. Nevertheless, despite that bill being passed, many argue that the wage gap is a result of “sex discrimination”. They believe in this part of the world, women are drawing even with men in terms of education and experience, yet men are paid more and do better …show more content…
However, this does not show any sign of sex discrimination as there are other factors that are not being considered while making such strong assumptions. Firstly, the most important factor, occupational segregation. Over 40% of women enter professions like nursing, teaching, health service etc. These occupations pay less compared to other occupations. Only 15% of men work in these occupations. The top five woman-heavy majors were family and consumer sciences/human sciences (88% female); library science (87%); health professions and related programs (85%); public administration and social service professions (82%); and education (80%).(Furchtgott-Roth, 2014) Secondly, the numbers of working hours that both men and women work are different. On an average, women work for relatively lesser number of hours compared to men. Statistics show that men and women who work more than 40 hours a week, women make 88 cents for every dollar men earn. But for men and women who work for 30 to 35 hours a week, the pay gap is actually negative, i.e. women make 1.09 dollars for every dollar men earn. Does that still mean that the wage gap is a result of sex …show more content…
Women are not discouraged to enroll in higher paying fields. They choose to graduate in English literature, Social Sciences, Communications, and Arts. These fields are relatively low paid fields than the sciences or commercial fields. Married women that have children temporary opt out of employment or dramatically reduce their number of working hours for childcare responsibilities. According to Andrew Biggs’s article published in the National Review in 2010, “women are also four times more likely to leave the workforce temporarily to care for children. This reduces seniority and job-specific skills and discourages employers from investing in female employees, who may not stay long enough for such investments to pay off.” Also, women prefer to be employed in flexible jobs that have more benefits than higher wages, which are usually found in non-profit sectors of an economy. Besides, men take up jobs that involve more physical risk and danger in exchange for a higher wage. According to the American Association of University Women reports, men are 4 times more likely to negotiate and bargain when it comes to wages in a new job than women. Additionally, in sports, many argue that men deserve to be paid more than women despite both male and female doing the same job, i.e. playing the sport. This is because till date, men sports are given more importance than female sports and therefore sponsors and owners will make more money if they invest on males than
Sometimes, women are not given the chance to make more money because employers think that men are stronger, smarter, or more experienced or skilled (Gender Differences 84). This obviously means that women do not get a fair chance to get higher paying jobs in some cases. However, women know how to fight and try to make things right. An example of this is in the article “Understanding the ‘‘Family Gap’’ in Pay for Women with Children”. Jane Waldfogel states that if women had “not increased their investments in education and experience, the gender pay gap would have widened in the 1980s simply due to the changes in the overall wage structure” (140).
Lastly, take risk as another factor. Majority of the workers in nearly all the most dangerous occupations, such as iron workers and loggers, are male, and 92 percent of work-related deaths in 2012 were to men. Males are also more likely to pursue occupations where compensation is risky from year to year, such as finance and law. Research shows that average pay in such jobs is higher to compensate for the risk. Therefore, due to the fact that women and men do different type of jobs and work different hours, the gap in wage is not related to gender discrimination and feminism is again proven to be irrelevant
People should be asking why fans and sponsors are less interested in supporting women’s sports. This is because again there aren’t enough sponsors and viewers. Female attributes come into this as well, women do not have the excitement men bring to sports, such as soccer, basketball, hockey etc. when a sport is more exciting that is what attracts the viewers, which then therefore attracts more money and
Research shows wage gaps are solely a product of the choices of the second party. Woman have chosen what level of education they wish to pursue, the fields they wish to be in, and where they work. When looking back at a censuses of the early-to-mid 1900’s the majority of working women worked at small enterprises rather than booming companies: large Firms pay at higher rates, their payout going predominantly to males of the working class (Rubenstien, Michael Harvey). When taken under the scope, large enterprises rejected woman workers, and if they did hire, the lady’s income would be significantly smaller. Consequently, companies would deny the reason being that they were of a different sex, and rather blame it on how little education the skill the person had, “Frequently, even when given raises, their new pay still comes short of that of their male coworkers.
When looking at gross income for female athletes, they are still making significantly less than their male counterparts, but they are now making more when compared to the money they bring into their respective industries. For example, men in the NBA make an average of 7.3 million dollars a year while females make just over 100 thousand a year; even though that disparity is substantial, the NBA brings in 10 billion dollars annually, and the WNBA does not make a profit. If both sexes were paid proportionally, women in the league would be losing money, but the recent women's movements for equality have still allowed them to make a comfortable living. Regardless, there still needs to be a more extensive infrastructure to support them at the same level as men. That might be partial because men can compete at a higher physical level, but either way, resources are being poured into women's sports to keep them afloat.
The gender wage gap is outrageous. That gap is still significantly large in America, despite efforts that have been going on for decades to eliminate it. Women simply receive substantially less than men in this country. They are being discriminated against, and there is so much evidence to prove this. We cannot let them dismiss the evidence any longer.
Shining some much-needed sunlight on the gender wage gap will make a difference for every one of us, men and women, right now.” (www.nytimes.com, 16). “It’s the twenty-first century, and the gender wage gap affects the daily life of women throughout the country, at every economic level, from cashier to CEO. Is it fair? No.
When the Equal Pay Act was signed, women were only making 59 cents for every dollar men were making (The Gender Pay Gap). Every year, especially around election time, new statistics are released asserting that despite considerable efforts to close the wage gap between women and men, it still exists. The latest reports state that women generally make 81 cents for every male’s dollar earned today, but the numbers that come out can sometimes be as low as 77 cents on the dollar (Taranto). Statistically, the general consensus is that the wage gap has gotten better, but it is still present. Though the wage gap has declined, the National Organization of Women reported that at the rate of decline that exists now, the wage gap would not close completely until 2058 in the United States (The Gender Pay Gap).
Analysis of “The Gender Pay Gap Is a Myth” In the article “The Gender Pay Gap Is a Myth”, Steve Tobak expresses his opinion on the difference in pay between males and females. The gap in pay between men and women has been a reoccurring controversy through many decades. While some say that women are generally paid at a lower scale than men, there are others that believe that this is a myth. Published on May 3, 2013 by Fox Business, throughout this article the Tobak explains his reasoning as to why he believes that the gender pay gap is a myth.
Gender equality: the pinnacle concept that American society is not-so desperately trying to achieve. Many Americans have convinced themselves that gender equality was remedied by the Nineteenth Amendment and the Second Feminist Movement, and have not considered the thousands of steps that are left on the journey. In recent years, a matter of public interest has been the gender wage gap, stating that women are earning significantly less money than men for doing an equivalent amount of work. Critics of the effort to “break the glass ceiling” claim that a pay gap does not exist, and that if it does, it is because women either do not work as hard, have to tend to their families, or hold lower paying jobs. However, the gender pay gap has been proven to exist in a variety of different forms,
As of 2015 women are only making between $0.76 and $0.80 for every dollar men are making. The pay gap does vary by each job, CNBC says “Of course, the pay gap varies greatly by industry. The disparity was largest — nearly 30 percent — between men and women in finance and insurance, without controlling for job title, education and years of experience, among other factors,” click here for link. As you can see women are clearly paid less than men of the same career and 83% of women believe that along with 68% of men who feel they are being paid more as well. In addition to this women have come forward and explained how they are paid less than men who are their co-hosts, co-workers,
Men’s sports have more viewers than women’s sports. For example, the FIFA World Cup is one of the most popular sporting events in the world. According to FIFA (the governing body of association soccer/football), the Men’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia was watched
Annotated Bibliography Quast, L. (2015, November 22). The Gender Pay Gap Issue Is Fixable -- But May Require Bolder Actions To Overcome. Retrieved from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2015/11/22/the-gender-pay-gap-issue-is-fixable-but-may-require-bolder-actions-to-overcome/2/ It is reported by the Economic Policy Institute that although women had made tremendous records entering into workforce and gain great successes in education, but their wage is 83% comparing to men. The world forum also released a report in 2015 that women now make as much as men earned a decade ago.
Why Are Women Paid Less? —— It Is Not an Issue Only About Discrimination That Simple According to a survey by North American Industry System(NAICS), based on average wages, all workers in 2014 including full-time and part-time, women earned just 75.3% compared to men. As more and more women enter the labor market, this issue is increasingly attached great importance, and whether this issue relates to discrimination is the biggest concern.
The United States is currently facing an economical problem that involves males and female differences within the workplace. Males are given bigger and sometimes even better rewards for doing equal amounts of work as their female counterparts. Females are frequently not receiving the same wage even if they can complete the same job of a male. Also, females are less likely to get promoted within their job if they are competing against a male. A source states, “Women are now more likely to have college degrees than men, yet they still face a pay gap in every single education level,