Women have been the subject of discrimination and inequality in the past. And despite the societal progress and development, as well as the emergence of legislations that protect their rights, women remain to experience inequality in one way or another. One of the inequality that is still prevalent today, even in progressive countries is the gender wage gap. The gender wage gap is defined as the average difference of the hourly earnings between men and women (European, 2) A study conducted at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research revealed that women were paid lower than men in a large number of occupations, “whether they work in occupations predominantly done by women, occupations predominantly done by men, or occupations with a more or even mix of men and women” (Hegewish, n.p). Further, in the United States, it was found that women received a salary which are about 78 percent of men’s salaries (Hallman, 3). This means that despite the different explanations that are claimed to the elements that contributed to the gender wage gap, women remain to disadvantage in the labor market due to inequality.
There are some proponents that gender wage gap does not exist, and the reason why there difference in men and women’s salary can be attributed to factors that do not reflect discrimination or inequality. For example, women tend to spend less time at work because of their mothers and home obligations. Their situation is in contrast to men, who have most of their time at their disposal, and can therefore exert more effort in the advancement of their career. In 1998, Lily Ledbetter found that for over twenty years of being of service to Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, she received a lesser pay than her male colleagues (Introduction). This prompted her to file a case against the company, which resulted in the controversies that determines when the gender wage gap occurred. Accordingly, the case of Ledbetter indicated that not all gender wage gap can be attributed to inequality, and there is a need to assess the evidence to prove that inequality and discrimination exists in determining the wage gap.
Factors that Contribute to Gender Pay Gap
One among the most cited factor that contribute to the difference in men and women’s pay is race and ethnicity. It was found that Hispanic or Latina women earned about 54% of the white men’s wages, black women earned about 63%, while the Asian women were reported to have the highest median earnings compared to the white men (Hegewish, n.p). Another factor that contributed to wage gap is the nature of the occupation. It was found that the most common occupations for women are a) as secretaries and administrative assistants, c) elementary and middle school teachers, and c) registered nurses (Hegewisch, n.p). These forms of employments were among the less paying occupations, thus the large number of women employed in these sectors can largely contribute to the statistical gender wage gap. Further, there are also the occupations that are paid with poverty wages, such as cashiers, maid chambers and household cleaners. There is also the occupational bias that deters women from advancing in their career, so that, while women were equally ambitious as men, it is unfortunate that they were not rewarded for their ambition. (Covert, n.p)
Even after many decades since the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women remain to receive lower pay than men. An examination of the most common employment of women indicated that their median earnings are lesser than men in the majority of the occupations. This fact is to disadvantageous to women who may force themselves to work for longer hours, yet they remain to earn less. This instance was found to be more common among Latina women who were “likely to be in the lowest paid jobs, even in the lower skilled occupations” (Hegewisch)
Actions Taken to Address Gender Wage Gap
There are several steps taken to minimize or to completely eradicate the gender wage gap. One of the legislations that was passed to ensure that gender wage gap will be addressed was the Lily Ledbetter Pay Act “which allows the 180-day statute of limitations to reset with each paycheck that is affected by past discrimination” (Introduction). In January of this year, President Obama proposed a new policy that demands every business in the United Sates to make a report of their employees pay, according to race and gender. This policy is part of the move towards the reduction of the long history of wage inequality for women and other minorities (Nakamura).
Conclusion
Women have been the subject of discrimination and inequality and this is most apparent by the existence of the gender wage gap. Despite the promulgation of laws that regulate pay, women remain to be disadvantaged in terms of earnings. While there are people who claimed that the gender wage gap does not exist, statistics showed that there are unexplained elements in the difference between men and women’s earnings. Nevertheless, the government has proposed policies to regulate and reduce the pay gap, in addition to other organizations that advocate for the further issuance of regulatory policies that check on men and women’s pay.
Works Cited
Covert, Bryce. Institutional Bias Partially Explains the Gender Wage Gap. The Wage Gap. 2014
Hallman, Linda. The Simple Truth About the Gender Gap. Retrieved from http://www.aauw.org/files/2015/02/The-Simple-Truth_Spring-2015.pdf
Hegewisch, Ariane. Women’s Wages are Lower Due to Occupational Segregation. The Wage Gap. 2014
“Introduction to the Wage Gap: Current Controversies” The Wage Gap. Ed. Noel Merino. Farmington Hills, MI
Nakamura, David. Obama to Propose New Rule to Examine Gender Pay Inequality. The Washington Post. 2016
European Union. Tackling the Gender Pay Gap in the European Union. Luxemburg Publications.
