It's Not A Glass Ceiling Its A Sticky Floor Analysis

ENGL 111

October 7, 2013

Pay Divided and Distributed

Social distinctions between men and women make up what is known as gender. Gender is not the same as sex, which refers to the biological differences between males and females. However, some people think that most gender distinctions are the direct or indirect result of biological sex differences. Some argue that physical differences lead men and women to behave in different ways. There are claim that gender is an invention of society, learned over a period of years through interactions with family, friends, and other people. Both physical and social factors influence a person 's gender identity. There is no question that gender affects a person 's roles and position in society.
Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women. When the phrase “Gender wage gap” is used it refers to the difference in earnings between men and women. Since the early 1900’s Women have been trying to level the wage difference between what men make and what women make. The majority of the female workforce earn the standard amount of pay for the type work that is performed. That means that jobs that are identical have the identical pay scale. The wage gap theory is not evidenced in the year 2013. Wages are distributed fairly between genders. Since the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed into Federal law there have been many studies on this subject. Research has been done by private entities as well as official dignitaries. Most all of the experts used different controls as their base to begin. Several factors involved effected the outcome of the studies. Comparing the same job, with the same skill level, and the same tenure are important factors in the outcomes of the results. Personal preferences also are a major part of the research. Several studies have disregarded the long known facts that women choose to have family friendly careers if they are in the child bearing years of their life. Shifts that offer swing time and part time are very helpful in raising a family. The new concept of “Mommy-time” shifts is growing in popularity so that more time can be spent with the responsibilities of a family. Fewer hours spent at work affects almost all women because of the need to care for children, domestic affairs, and ageing parents. Women working less than full time, 40 hours per week, changes the percentage of income earned and makes it appear that women are earning less than their counterparts. When college students are choosing career fields, mostly men are enrolling in studies of science, technology, engineering, and math. These are all higher paying careers that have a large demand. Men tend to spend long hours working overtime and traveling excessively to make advancements. Women are usually unable to do the same so employers are more likely to use men for highly demanding jobs. Beginning wages are a key component especially if raises and advancement are based on that. According to Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever in the article “Women Don’t Ask” it demonstrates that women lack negotiation skills is the reason they have lower salaries. They conducted several studies to arrive to this conclusion. Their over all results did prove women were four times less likely to negotiate a stated starting salary than men. It also showed men planned to negotiate many months in advance compared to a week or so that women planned them (701-703). These statistics were proved and do make up a difference in gender but do not directly relate to the wage gap. Regardless of sex, those who negotiate their salary are paid 7-8 percent more than those who do not negotiate.
True comparisons look at men and women with the same amount of time at the same position at the same office. Because of physical strength, Men more than women take on laborious jobs. Construction, mechanical, transportation and material handling are some of the heavy labor jobs with commensurable pay but they have few female applicants. The same is true of the social service type industries; there are more women than men. Women are likely to be in more positions as clerical, care giver or child care. The wages for caring type of jobs pays a considerable amount lower than other laborious jobs.
In “It 's Not a Glass Ceiling, It 's a Sticky Floor,” author Rebecca Shambaugh suggests that women need to stop blaming men and the glass ceiling and start establishing competence, taking credit for accomplishments, negotiating, and networking.
Shambaugh asserts that women inadvertently sabotage their own careers. Gaby Hinsliff states “Women in their 20s now earn a solid 3.6% more on average than men their age, after narrowly overtaking them for the first time last year [2010].
Due to increased education, inherent skills, and a basic increase in the value of women in the workplace, young women are beginning to out-earn their male counterparts. While this development threatens the traditional gender model, wage fairness benefits society as a whole and should be celebrated. It is unclear whether this trend can continue for women through their childbearing years.

Every year the so called gap has lessened in all of the research. What has become more evident is an even greater concern than women making less wages than men as stated by the conservative family policy expert Jill Kirby "the pay gap we should be worrying about is the one that shows young men falling behind", not the one that still sees men earning more than women for every other decade of their working
life.

Works Cited
Babcock, Linda and Sara Laschever.
“Women Don’t Ask.” The Norton Field-Guide to Writing with Readings 3rd Ed. New York: Richard Bullock and Maureen Daly Goggin, Norton, 2013. 699-703. Print. 'Is the Wage Gap Between Men and Women Narrowing?’ Wage Gap. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
Shambaugh, Rebecca. It 's Not a Glass Ceiling, It 's a Sticky Floor: Free Yourself from the Hidden Behaviors Sabotaging Your Career Success. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Oct. 2013
Hinsliff, Gaby. "Young Women Are Increasingly Paid More than Young Men." Are Women Paid Fairly? Ed. Jennifer Dorman. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Young Women are Now Earning More Than Men—That 's Not Sexist, Just Fair." www.Guardian.co.uk. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
VEDDER, RICHARD. "The Declining Importance Of Race And Gender In The Labor Market: The Role Of Employment Discrimination Policies." Independent Review 18.2 (2013): 305. Master FILE Premier. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
Luscombe, Belinda. "Ten Things You Didn 't Know About The Gender Gap." Time.Com (2013): 1. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Oct.
2013.
"Employment, Wages, and Benefits." U.S. Department of Labor. Office of the Secretary, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
Farrell, Warren. Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth behind the Pay Gap--and What Women Can Do about It. New York: AMACOM, 2005. Print.