Gender Wage Gap in America
The Gender Wage Gap in America
The gender wage gap has been around since women began having jobs and careers. Though in the beginning the gender wage gap was purely do to discrimination by social stereotypes, now it has become more complicated than that. The issue today has evolved into a complex issue which combines our American culture with business economics. As a result, some are skeptical of the issue and some are very adamant in their beliefs. The issue encompasses not only gender stereo types but also educational, government policies and business’s best practices. Two thousand ten, forty-three years since the first law to fight the gender wage gap. The Equal Pay Act was initiated during the Kennedy administration. Since then, the gender wage gap has been narrowing every year, but it still does exist in the United States. The gender wage gap is the difference between what women get paid and what men get paid for doing the same job. People have been trying to prove whether the gender wage gap is bad, or unimportant since before the first act was passed. In the 1963 the gender wage gap was a huge issue; women made only 63% of what men made in the same positions. As time has progressed, women now make on average 77% of what men make in the same position. Every second a baby is born in the United States, according to the U.S. Census, and with a baby comes big responsibility. Whether it’s fair or not, the social norm is the woman stays at home, while the man goes to work to pay the bills. Since many women feel the pressures of family obligations more than the men do, they often are forced to choose between their family and their careers. Accordingly women statistically don’t put in as many overtime hours as men, says April Kelly-Woessner, a political science professor at Elizabethtown College. Employers complain that women regularly choose family obligations over their jobs. Companies feel that if women stayed and had the same commitment as men they
The gender wage gap has been around since women began having jobs and careers. Though in the beginning the gender wage gap was purely do to discrimination by social stereotypes, now it has become more complicated than that. The issue today has evolved into a complex issue which combines our American culture with business economics. As a result, some are skeptical of the issue and some are very adamant in their beliefs. The issue encompasses not only gender stereo types but also educational, government policies and business’s best practices. Two thousand ten, forty-three years since the first law to fight the gender wage gap. The Equal Pay Act was initiated during the Kennedy administration. Since then, the gender wage gap has been narrowing every year, but it still does exist in the United States. The gender wage gap is the difference between what women get paid and what men get paid for doing the same job. People have been trying to prove whether the gender wage gap is bad, or unimportant since before the first act was passed. In the 1963 the gender wage gap was a huge issue; women made only 63% of what men made in the same positions. As time has progressed, women now make on average 77% of what men make in the same position. Every second a baby is born in the United States, according to the U.S. Census, and with a baby comes big responsibility. Whether it’s fair or not, the social norm is the woman stays at home, while the man goes to work to pay the bills. Since many women feel the pressures of family obligations more than the men do, they often are forced to choose between their family and their careers. Accordingly women statistically don’t put in as many overtime hours as men, says April Kelly-Woessner, a political science professor at Elizabethtown College. Employers complain that women regularly choose family obligations over their jobs. Companies feel that if women stayed and had the same commitment as men they
Cited: "Wage Discrimination Against Women Does Not Exist." Discrimination. Ed. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. "The Wage Gap for Women." Discrimination. Ed. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. "College-Educated Women Struggle to Even the Wage Gap." Wage Gap. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. Joyce, Amy. "Women Earn Less than Their Male Counterparts Just a Year Out of College." Washington Post (29 Apr. 2007). Rpt. in Wage Gap. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. Trumball, Mark. "The Glass Ceiling Still Exists for Women in the Workplace." Christian Science Monitor (8 Feb. 2007). Rpt. in Working Women. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.