THE GENDER PAY GAP

By Gabriela Martinez

WHAT IS THE GENDER PAY GAP?

A type of discrimination in the workplace based on gender, to consider it
acceptable to deliberately pay women less than men for the same job
performed.
women only earn .77 cents for every dollar that men earn (Brown 39).

MYTHS AND
MISCONCEPTIONS

WOMEN TEND TO PURSUE CAREERS THAT ARE NOT

IN A HIGHER PAY RANGE SUCH AS LAW, MEDICINE,
OR POLITICS
Research shows that when womens ratio of workforce is higher compared
to mens in a new field, salaries do in fact go down. (Henslin, 394)
women still get paid 24 cents less on the dollar than their male
counterparts, while performing the same types of jobs for the same
amount of time (Henslin 394).
while women make up over 47% of the workforce in America, men can
expect to earn $688,000 more over the course of their careers than
women. (Henslin,395)

MISINTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS
Some believe
statistics are not taking into account the fact that men work
more hours per week than women, when in reality statistics
show the difference in pay based on gender when all other
factors are equal.

WOMEN DO NOT KNOW HOW TO NEGOTIATE FOR

EQUAL PAY IN THE WORKPLACE, OR SIMPLY
CHOOSE TO PURSUE LOWER PAYING CAREERS
In reality, women lack mentors or successful executives willing to guide
them and/or sponsor them in their journey to leadership and good
negotiation (Henslin 309).
Women are not so much pursuing these careers but it could be argued that
they are being geared towards them instead, and to what is commonly
considered gender appropriate fields and positions in the workplace.
in the United States women represent 90 percent of registered nurses, 92
percent of receptionists, 94 percent of administrative assistants, 98 percent
of dental hygienists, and 86 percent of paralegals (Wade, Ferre 119-120).

THE GAP ITS AT ITS WIDEST IN THOSE HIGHER

EARNING FIELDS THAT REQUIRE PROFESSIONAL
DEGREES SUCH AS LAW AND MEDICINE AND
THAT IT IS LOWER IN FIELDS THAT TEND TO PAY
LESS OVERALL BECAUSE RACIAL MINORITY
WOMEN, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOME ASIAN
GROUPS, EARN ESPECIALLY LOW INCOMES
(WADE, FERRE 286).

Why Are These Bad Things?

These types of arrangements put women in subordinate and
hierarchical relationships with men in the workplace, making
them dependent on men for approval and wages, which
ultimately could affect their financial wellbeing (Wade, Ferre
120)
Can make women more afraid of retaliation, perpetuating the
belief that women earn less than the other sex because they
do not know how to negotiate for better wages

HISTORY AND LEGISLATION

When women started joining the workforce during the industrial revolution,
they were seen as the weaker sex, and as a mean for supplementary income
as opposed to main providers for their families or themselves. In this way
employers could justify paying them less than men (Wade, Ferre 169-170).
Since then, womens roles in the workplace have changed
gradually
during the 1890s one of every five workers were women, fifty years later
during the 1940s that number had grown to 1 out of four, by 1960, one out
of three and today, about one out of two workers are women (Henslin 309).

 When President John F. Kennedy passed the equal pay act of

1963, the gender pay gap in labor was an issue that affected
millions of women across the nation (Brown 39). Prior to 1963 it
was considered acceptable to deliberately pay women less than
men for the same job performed.
The passing of the equal pay act, was meant to signal a change,
and an opportunity to bring about fairness to women in the
workforce. Fifty-two years later this gap has slightly narrowed
(Brown 39)

REALITIES OF THE GENDER PAY GAP

 The Glass Ceilingalso know as the invisible barrier that prevents women
from reaching the highest positions available in their job field. Women cant
break thru the glass ceiling because they are stereotyped as less capable to
perform C-level positions than men; are considered bad leaders, and better
as a support for men (Henslin 311).
Even in fields in which the majority of the force is female, men still have the
upper hand and can climb the leadership ladder faster than women. This
phenomenon is known as the glass escalator (Wade, Ferree 285).
In a study of 5,734 elementary and high school teachers it was found that
men were three times more likely than women to be promoted to
administrative positions over a two-year period (Wade, Ferree 308)

Furthermore

 Women can be judged on the fact that they have a reproductive system that
could one day interfere with their work related obligations, allowing
employers to use this as an excuse to pay women less than men, known as
motherhood tax, or mommy tracking.
This problem is even bigger for mothers, who can in fact, expect a 7
percent decline in wages per child (Wade, Ferree 310).
In todays society, 34% of women on the workforce are the sole breadwinners
for their household. Closing this gap is essential to their and their families
chance of surviving; the gap affects many mothers ability to provide for safe
housing, good nutrition and opportunities in general for their children
(DiMaria 19-20).

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM RELATED

TO THE GENDER PAY GAP?

Poverty

 over two-thirds of all the people living in poverty in the United States, are
women (Hillary Clinton).
gender is the biggest poverty indicator in our society (Wade, Ferree 275)
over a lifetime the average woman will make $434,000 less in income than
the average men. Women with college degrees stand to lose about
$713.000 (Wade, Ferrer 286).
This difference in income over a lifetime affects the amount of accrued
contributions paid to social security by women, thus affecting the amount of
money they can receive at retirement.
womens average social security retirement benefit is about 75 percent that
of men (Wade, Ferre 286)

PICTURES SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

WHY DOES THE GENDER PAY GAP EXIST?

androcentrism,

or gender based prejudice, in which men are granted a

higher status, respect, rewards and power than women, based on their gender alone.
Androcentrism is the type of gender discrimination that is still deeply engrained in
our minds, due to the more traditional gender roles we grew up with. A perfect
example of this is that while women get mommy taxed, men on the other hand
receive a fatherhood premium in which married fathers earn 4 to 7 percent more
than married men without children (Wade, Ferree 310).
our society believes in an androcentric pay scale, that dictates how much a woman
can earn based on the gender composition of the job (Wade, Ferree 292)

LETS KEEP IN MIND THAT

This common belief puts women at a lower level socially and economically
while it strips away the prestige that women deserve as equally hard working
and productive members of our society when compared to men, especially
considering that after all they represent about 50 percent of the workforce in
this Country (Henslin 309)
In todays society, 34% of women on the workforce are the sole
breadwinners for their household. Closing this gap is essential to their and
their families chance of surviving; the gap affects many mothers ability to
provide for safe housing, good nutrition and opportunities in general for their
children (DiMaria 19-20).

IN CONCLUSION,
For a country as big, resourceful, and technologically advanced as
this one we are still at .24 cents of a dollar short of being fair to
the American women and their lawful right to earn a fair salary in
whichever field they might choose to pursue. Thus providing them
with the same opportunities to achieve the same level of power
and prestige, which in turn will provide them with a salary that its
worthy of a member of our society, regardless of gender.

WORKS CITED