Why Women Get Equal Pay
Chambers 1
Marisa Chambers
Ms. Romine
Literary Appreciation
12 December 2014
Women Deserve Equal Pay
The argument over whether the gender pay gap still exists is often brought up without an exact answer. Women getting paid less than men for doing the same job is real and is happening everyday. People may question why women still face a gender pay gap and why they deserve to have equal pay. Woman face the gender pay gap because of sexism ,discrimination, and stereotypes. Many think it is a myth or not true because of the Fair Pay Act of 2013 or fair pay laws. Gender pay gap is still an issue in our world today. Woman deserve to be paid the same for doing the same work as men because of moral and ethical purposes, cost of living, mothering children and …show more content…
because it affects men and society as well.
The Cambridge Dictionary says that gender pay gap is the difference between the amounts of money paid to women and men, often for doing the same work . Although we have laws to keep pay equal, it still exists. Shown here, “Despite passage of the Equal Pay Act of
1963, requires that men and women in the same work place be given equal pay for equal work, the "gender gap" in pay persists.
Fulltime women’s earnings are only about 77 percent of their male counterparts’ earnings
”(Weekly Address). Research shows that the “Fair Pay Act of 2013 prohibits discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin”( Fair Pay Act 2013). Although we have these things that keep the majority of women safe from the gender pay gap, many women are still suffering from cases that go unheard or are
Chambers 2
just too scared to speak up about this crime. Even political figures like Barack Obama agrees that women deserve fair pay. “Even though it’s 2014, there are women still earning less than men for doing the same work. So let’s make sure women earn equal pay for equal work, and have a fair shot at success”(Qtd in White House Gov).
With more evidence,”Women continue to earn considerably less than men on average, and the convergence that began in the late 1970s slowed noticeably in the 1990s.”(Francine Blau) To add, people also think that the gender pay gap only affects women in the United States. It does not. Women in China are also faces the realm of this injustice. Research has shown, “In contrast to the U.S ,China has witnessed a widening gender pay gap in the past two decades... since the 1980s the female employment rate has been falling and the gap between male and female employment rates has been increasing
“(qtd in Chi, Wei, and Bo Li).
More evidence of the gender pay gap not only happening in the United States would be a case that happened in the United Kingdom. A female professor of the University of London lost a sex discrimination case against her employer after it was exposed that her male colleagues’ were getting paid more and getting granted more bonuses as her.
The claimant was appointed to the university in 1996 and claimed that six male professors had been getting paid more over her
One of the most famous cases of the gender pay gap would be the story of Lilly
Ledbetter:
Lilly Ledbetter was one of the few female supervisors at the Goodyear plant in
Gadsden, Alabama, and worked there for close to two decades. She faced sexual harassment at the plant and was told by her boss that he didn’t think a woman should be working there. Her coworkers bragged about their overtime pay, but Goodyear did
Chambers 3
not allow its employees to discuss their pay, and Ms. Ledbetter did not know she was the subject of discrimination until she received an anonymous note revealing the salaries of three of the male managers. After she filed a complaint with the EEOC, her case went to trial, and the jury awarded her backpay and approximately $3.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages for the extreme nature of the pay discrimination to which she had been subjected (Lilly Ledbetter Act).
In 2009 Barack Obama signed his first bill which happened to be the Lilly Ledbetter
Fair Pay Act. The bill states that,”.. individuals subjected to unlawful pay discrimination are able to effectively assert their rights under the federal antidiscrimination laws”( Lilly Ledbetter
Act). A lot of people also ignore to help get rid of the gender pay gap because they see it as a myth. They will not take the time to research the endless cases of gender pay gap.
Women deserve equal pay for many reasons. One of those reasons happen to be for the sake of moral and ethical purposes. Obviously if a person is doing more extraneous work or even more hours they should be paid more than ones doing less. After all most cases of gender pay gap occur when a women has had the same amount of education or even more, also doing the same job. Further, women are doing the same work and same time so why are they getting paid less? Although they have the same qualities as their male coworkers, companies feel that women don 't do as much or aren 't taking as many risks as men are. This becomes very frustrating and degrading for the women. It is not fair and it is an injustice to be getting paid less because of your gender.
It doesn 't make much sense to be paying someone less because they are simply a different gender. Its 2014, the world is finally opening up to things such as gay
Chambers 4
marriage. The world is starting to see people as people and not labeling them. So why is this not carrying out through to the workplace? It is not because the work of women is normally underestimated. With that women will start to believe that they are less and not equal which in full view is not okay. Reasons why women are victims of a pay gap happen to be bias, stereotypes, sexism, and discrimination. Without question these reasons are not ethical or moral.
As the cost of living increases everyday women that face the gender pay gap will suffer as they are paid less than their male coworkers. Research shows that single women have a higher cost of living than the average single male or married couple. Many companies that enforce a gender pay gap often tell their female workers to simply ask for a raise. Commonly women in the workforce may feel scared or even intimidated to ask for a raise because of how they are already treated and their lower paycheck. With that companies manipulate their
women because they know alot of them will not ask for the raise. Even if the woman were to get a raise it would most likely not be equivalent to the males pay. Likewise most women would like to trust that their company has the right morals to grant equal pay to begin with. The most most compelling evidence of this would be:
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella caused a firestorm on Thursday when he said that the key to women getting paid more is not asking for a raise, but relying on good karma.
Almost immediately realizing his wrongness, Nadella apologized and wrote to employees that, of course, "If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask."But it 's not really that simple: Women are often more reluctant to ask for raises or promotions than men are, contributing to the gender pay gap. If Nadella really wants to help women make it to the top of the corporate ladder and achieve pay equality
Chambers 5
and he probably should, given that women are an embarrassingly small minority of workers his company he could look to fellow tech giant Google for advice on what to do (Emily Cohn).
In other words, on top of the cost of living many single women suffering from the gender pay gap have most likely received college degrees for the job they have found themselves. After leaving college many people still have to pay of the debt of their student loans. “
The average student leaves college with about $25,000 in student loan debt” (qtd in
Student Loan Repayments). As a result ,the cost of living under a gender pay gap is leaving women helpless and without a break.
Lastly women deserve equal pay for the sake of mothering children. Women already have the face the chances of not having a paid lead on top of already getting paid less.
Mothering children is hard and others agree. With support an article from Weekly Address explains the everyday difficulties of a pregnant women in the workplace.
Women deserve to be able to take time off to care for a new baby, an ailing parent, or take a sick day for themselves without running into hardship. Pregnant workers deserve to be treated fairly. Even today, women can be fired for taking too many bathroom breaks, or forced on unpaid leave just for being pregnant. That’s wrong and we have to choose policies that ensure pregnant workers are treated with dignity and respect (Weekly Address).
It is known that raising a baby is expensive but let alone for a women suffering from gender pay gap it could be close to impossible.
A report from the Institute For Women’s Policy
Chambers 6
Research found that if women were paid fairly, single women’s income would rise by 13.4 percent, single mothers would earn 17 percent more…”,(qtd in Six Reasons)
.
If there was a scenario of a mother raising her kid on her own think of the things she would have to go through. To start she has to pay for the nourishment of the child, the education, and wellbeing. She must go to work alongside her biased coworkers and try to get through her day. While she is at work she is constantly thinking about the care of her child.
Most single mothers have to put their child in a daycare while they are at work. Putting a child in daycare can be costly. Research shows that the average cost of daycare is $11,666 a year,
$972 a month according to Babycenter.com. Women are constantly just getting by under the gender pay gap.
The gender pay gap is normally enforced upon by a male figure of the company of business.
Little do they know that the gender pay gap affects them too. Working men in the United States are working the longest hours in this industrialized world. With that they have the smallest amount of leisure time. Routinely, so that their wives can spend more time on family caregiving. This causes men to spend more time making up for their wives lower wages and men are spending countless hours away from their families. If women were getting paid fairly men would not have to make up for their wives lower wages. Leaving the male to have time to spend with his family. These companies have no morals therefore they do not care if a man is away from his family. They refuse to fairly pay their female employees.
Lastly, on top of effecting men, the gender pay gap affects society as a whole. Funded by income and wage taxes, state and federal social programs are dramatically affected by the wage
Chambers 7
gap.
Sense women are making less money, tax revenues—many of which fund important community services—are lower and decreasing than they should be.
The reasons why women face the gender gap and why they deserve equal pay are evident. The real question or issue is how do we confine the gender pay gap. Some things that can be done to try to end a gender pay gap could be the following tips that have been quoted in an article. Move or at least show that you 're willing to
.
Manage professional networks by, for example, making yourself noticed at conferences. Stay in touch with the person who got you your current position, and look for a new job from time to time, to mark yourself to market.Compete within the firm. Show your willingness to move within the organization. Seek opportunities for additional responsibilities,specifically if you 're in a company, such as a consulting firm, that operates on a projectbyproject basis. Get it in writing
.
Insist on a contract clause that organizes your raises to the increases paid to men of comparable rank and in comparable firms. Lastly do your homework
.
Collect information on the pay of comparable managers and bring it to compensation meetings of HR representatives or the board 's compensation committee. ( Sudip Datta)
Some women may feel uncomfortable adopting these strategies. But the alternative is to stand by and let these companies manipulate you into facing a gender pay gap. (Datta)
Other ways to get rid of the gender pay gap would be to start paying attention to your company 's data and start valuing women 's work. Make sure that you are getting paid the same as your male colleagues
.
If you are not you should bring it to light and hopefully end it
.
People
could also start paying attention and start valuing women 's work
.
Actually take the time to
Chambers 8
evaluate and see how hard our women work everyday
.
Little things like this could really make a difference. Not all workplaces are biased towards women and use the gender pay gap
.
Most workplaces are equal and give their employees the same opportunities as everyone else
.
Also a sense of comfort and equality
.
This is to unveil the companies or businesses that do have a gender pay gap and discriminate their female employees
.
The evidence of a gender pay gap is clear.Through facing sexism, discrimination, and stereotypes its time women are paid equally
.
Women everyday are doing the same work and time and are substantially getting paid less than men
.
Leaving women just getting by in their everyday life. From moral and ethical purposes to the cost of living women deserve to be paid equally . Additionally from having to mother children to the pay gap affecting men and society, women finally should be getting a an equal and fair pay in todays world. Its time to shine light upon the gender pay gap.
Chambers 9
WORKS CITED Blau, Francine D., and Lawrence M. Kahn. "The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women Gone As Far As
They Can?."
Academy Of Management Perspectives 21.1 (2007): 723.
Business Source
Premier
. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Chi, Wei, and Bo Li. "Trends In China’S Gender Employment And Pay Gap: Estimating
Gender Pay Gaps With Employment Selection." Journal Of Comparative Economics 42.3
(2014): 708725. Business Source Premier. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
Cohn, Emily. "Telling Women To 'Just Ask ' For A Raise Is Just Terrible Advice."
The Huffington
Post
. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
"College in Colorado."
Student Loan Repayments
. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Datta, Sudip, Abhijit Guha, and Mai IskandarDatta. "Ending The Wage Gap."
Harvard
Business Review 91.5 (2013): 30.
Business Source Premier
. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.
"H.R.438 Fair Pay Act of 2013113th Congress (20132014)."
H.R.438
. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov.
2014.
James. "Female Professor Loses Equal Pay Appeal."
Employee Benefits (2014): 2.
Business Source
Premier
. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.
"Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act."
National Women 's Law Center
. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
"The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Fall 2014)."
AAUW: Empowering Women Since
1881
. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
Chambers
10
Six Reasons Why Equal Pay Is Still Important."
Name
. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014..
""Unequal Pay Is Immoral": Debating the Equal Pay Act of 1963."
"Unequal Pay Is
Immoral": Debating the Equal Pay Act of 1963
. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
"Weekly Address: It 's Time to Help Women and Working Families."
The White House
. The White
House, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Marisa Chambers
Ms. Romine
Literary Appreciation
12 December 2014
Women Deserve Equal Pay
The argument over whether the gender pay gap still exists is often brought up without an exact answer. Women getting paid less than men for doing the same job is real and is happening everyday. People may question why women still face a gender pay gap and why they deserve to have equal pay. Woman face the gender pay gap because of sexism ,discrimination, and stereotypes. Many think it is a myth or not true because of the Fair Pay Act of 2013 or fair pay laws. Gender pay gap is still an issue in our world today. Woman deserve to be paid the same for doing the same work as men because of moral and ethical purposes, cost of living, mothering children and …show more content…
because it affects men and society as well.
The Cambridge Dictionary says that gender pay gap is the difference between the amounts of money paid to women and men, often for doing the same work . Although we have laws to keep pay equal, it still exists. Shown here, “Despite passage of the Equal Pay Act of
1963, requires that men and women in the same work place be given equal pay for equal work, the "gender gap" in pay persists.
Fulltime women’s earnings are only about 77 percent of their male counterparts’ earnings
”(Weekly Address). Research shows that the “Fair Pay Act of 2013 prohibits discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin”( Fair Pay Act 2013). Although we have these things that keep the majority of women safe from the gender pay gap, many women are still suffering from cases that go unheard or are
Chambers 2
just too scared to speak up about this crime. Even political figures like Barack Obama agrees that women deserve fair pay. “Even though it’s 2014, there are women still earning less than men for doing the same work. So let’s make sure women earn equal pay for equal work, and have a fair shot at success”(Qtd in White House Gov).
With more evidence,”Women continue to earn considerably less than men on average, and the convergence that began in the late 1970s slowed noticeably in the 1990s.”(Francine Blau) To add, people also think that the gender pay gap only affects women in the United States. It does not. Women in China are also faces the realm of this injustice. Research has shown, “In contrast to the U.S ,China has witnessed a widening gender pay gap in the past two decades... since the 1980s the female employment rate has been falling and the gap between male and female employment rates has been increasing
“(qtd in Chi, Wei, and Bo Li).
More evidence of the gender pay gap not only happening in the United States would be a case that happened in the United Kingdom. A female professor of the University of London lost a sex discrimination case against her employer after it was exposed that her male colleagues’ were getting paid more and getting granted more bonuses as her.
The claimant was appointed to the university in 1996 and claimed that six male professors had been getting paid more over her
One of the most famous cases of the gender pay gap would be the story of Lilly
Ledbetter:
Lilly Ledbetter was one of the few female supervisors at the Goodyear plant in
Gadsden, Alabama, and worked there for close to two decades. She faced sexual harassment at the plant and was told by her boss that he didn’t think a woman should be working there. Her coworkers bragged about their overtime pay, but Goodyear did
Chambers 3
not allow its employees to discuss their pay, and Ms. Ledbetter did not know she was the subject of discrimination until she received an anonymous note revealing the salaries of three of the male managers. After she filed a complaint with the EEOC, her case went to trial, and the jury awarded her backpay and approximately $3.3 million in compensatory and punitive damages for the extreme nature of the pay discrimination to which she had been subjected (Lilly Ledbetter Act).
In 2009 Barack Obama signed his first bill which happened to be the Lilly Ledbetter
Fair Pay Act. The bill states that,”.. individuals subjected to unlawful pay discrimination are able to effectively assert their rights under the federal antidiscrimination laws”( Lilly Ledbetter
Act). A lot of people also ignore to help get rid of the gender pay gap because they see it as a myth. They will not take the time to research the endless cases of gender pay gap.
Women deserve equal pay for many reasons. One of those reasons happen to be for the sake of moral and ethical purposes. Obviously if a person is doing more extraneous work or even more hours they should be paid more than ones doing less. After all most cases of gender pay gap occur when a women has had the same amount of education or even more, also doing the same job. Further, women are doing the same work and same time so why are they getting paid less? Although they have the same qualities as their male coworkers, companies feel that women don 't do as much or aren 't taking as many risks as men are. This becomes very frustrating and degrading for the women. It is not fair and it is an injustice to be getting paid less because of your gender.
It doesn 't make much sense to be paying someone less because they are simply a different gender. Its 2014, the world is finally opening up to things such as gay
Chambers 4
marriage. The world is starting to see people as people and not labeling them. So why is this not carrying out through to the workplace? It is not because the work of women is normally underestimated. With that women will start to believe that they are less and not equal which in full view is not okay. Reasons why women are victims of a pay gap happen to be bias, stereotypes, sexism, and discrimination. Without question these reasons are not ethical or moral.
As the cost of living increases everyday women that face the gender pay gap will suffer as they are paid less than their male coworkers. Research shows that single women have a higher cost of living than the average single male or married couple. Many companies that enforce a gender pay gap often tell their female workers to simply ask for a raise. Commonly women in the workforce may feel scared or even intimidated to ask for a raise because of how they are already treated and their lower paycheck. With that companies manipulate their
women because they know alot of them will not ask for the raise. Even if the woman were to get a raise it would most likely not be equivalent to the males pay. Likewise most women would like to trust that their company has the right morals to grant equal pay to begin with. The most most compelling evidence of this would be:
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella caused a firestorm on Thursday when he said that the key to women getting paid more is not asking for a raise, but relying on good karma.
Almost immediately realizing his wrongness, Nadella apologized and wrote to employees that, of course, "If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask."But it 's not really that simple: Women are often more reluctant to ask for raises or promotions than men are, contributing to the gender pay gap. If Nadella really wants to help women make it to the top of the corporate ladder and achieve pay equality
Chambers 5
and he probably should, given that women are an embarrassingly small minority of workers his company he could look to fellow tech giant Google for advice on what to do (Emily Cohn).
In other words, on top of the cost of living many single women suffering from the gender pay gap have most likely received college degrees for the job they have found themselves. After leaving college many people still have to pay of the debt of their student loans. “
The average student leaves college with about $25,000 in student loan debt” (qtd in
Student Loan Repayments). As a result ,the cost of living under a gender pay gap is leaving women helpless and without a break.
Lastly women deserve equal pay for the sake of mothering children. Women already have the face the chances of not having a paid lead on top of already getting paid less.
Mothering children is hard and others agree. With support an article from Weekly Address explains the everyday difficulties of a pregnant women in the workplace.
Women deserve to be able to take time off to care for a new baby, an ailing parent, or take a sick day for themselves without running into hardship. Pregnant workers deserve to be treated fairly. Even today, women can be fired for taking too many bathroom breaks, or forced on unpaid leave just for being pregnant. That’s wrong and we have to choose policies that ensure pregnant workers are treated with dignity and respect (Weekly Address).
It is known that raising a baby is expensive but let alone for a women suffering from gender pay gap it could be close to impossible.
A report from the Institute For Women’s Policy
Chambers 6
Research found that if women were paid fairly, single women’s income would rise by 13.4 percent, single mothers would earn 17 percent more…”,(qtd in Six Reasons)
.
If there was a scenario of a mother raising her kid on her own think of the things she would have to go through. To start she has to pay for the nourishment of the child, the education, and wellbeing. She must go to work alongside her biased coworkers and try to get through her day. While she is at work she is constantly thinking about the care of her child.
Most single mothers have to put their child in a daycare while they are at work. Putting a child in daycare can be costly. Research shows that the average cost of daycare is $11,666 a year,
$972 a month according to Babycenter.com. Women are constantly just getting by under the gender pay gap.
The gender pay gap is normally enforced upon by a male figure of the company of business.
Little do they know that the gender pay gap affects them too. Working men in the United States are working the longest hours in this industrialized world. With that they have the smallest amount of leisure time. Routinely, so that their wives can spend more time on family caregiving. This causes men to spend more time making up for their wives lower wages and men are spending countless hours away from their families. If women were getting paid fairly men would not have to make up for their wives lower wages. Leaving the male to have time to spend with his family. These companies have no morals therefore they do not care if a man is away from his family. They refuse to fairly pay their female employees.
Lastly, on top of effecting men, the gender pay gap affects society as a whole. Funded by income and wage taxes, state and federal social programs are dramatically affected by the wage
Chambers 7
gap.
Sense women are making less money, tax revenues—many of which fund important community services—are lower and decreasing than they should be.
The reasons why women face the gender gap and why they deserve equal pay are evident. The real question or issue is how do we confine the gender pay gap. Some things that can be done to try to end a gender pay gap could be the following tips that have been quoted in an article. Move or at least show that you 're willing to
.
Manage professional networks by, for example, making yourself noticed at conferences. Stay in touch with the person who got you your current position, and look for a new job from time to time, to mark yourself to market.Compete within the firm. Show your willingness to move within the organization. Seek opportunities for additional responsibilities,specifically if you 're in a company, such as a consulting firm, that operates on a projectbyproject basis. Get it in writing
.
Insist on a contract clause that organizes your raises to the increases paid to men of comparable rank and in comparable firms. Lastly do your homework
.
Collect information on the pay of comparable managers and bring it to compensation meetings of HR representatives or the board 's compensation committee. ( Sudip Datta)
Some women may feel uncomfortable adopting these strategies. But the alternative is to stand by and let these companies manipulate you into facing a gender pay gap. (Datta)
Other ways to get rid of the gender pay gap would be to start paying attention to your company 's data and start valuing women 's work. Make sure that you are getting paid the same as your male colleagues
.
If you are not you should bring it to light and hopefully end it
.
People
could also start paying attention and start valuing women 's work
.
Actually take the time to
Chambers 8
evaluate and see how hard our women work everyday
.
Little things like this could really make a difference. Not all workplaces are biased towards women and use the gender pay gap
.
Most workplaces are equal and give their employees the same opportunities as everyone else
.
Also a sense of comfort and equality
.
This is to unveil the companies or businesses that do have a gender pay gap and discriminate their female employees
.
The evidence of a gender pay gap is clear.Through facing sexism, discrimination, and stereotypes its time women are paid equally
.
Women everyday are doing the same work and time and are substantially getting paid less than men
.
Leaving women just getting by in their everyday life. From moral and ethical purposes to the cost of living women deserve to be paid equally . Additionally from having to mother children to the pay gap affecting men and society, women finally should be getting a an equal and fair pay in todays world. Its time to shine light upon the gender pay gap.
Chambers 9
WORKS CITED Blau, Francine D., and Lawrence M. Kahn. "The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women Gone As Far As
They Can?."
Academy Of Management Perspectives 21.1 (2007): 723.
Business Source
Premier
. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Chi, Wei, and Bo Li. "Trends In China’S Gender Employment And Pay Gap: Estimating
Gender Pay Gaps With Employment Selection." Journal Of Comparative Economics 42.3
(2014): 708725. Business Source Premier. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.
Cohn, Emily. "Telling Women To 'Just Ask ' For A Raise Is Just Terrible Advice."
The Huffington
Post
. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
"College in Colorado."
Student Loan Repayments
. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Datta, Sudip, Abhijit Guha, and Mai IskandarDatta. "Ending The Wage Gap."
Harvard
Business Review 91.5 (2013): 30.
Business Source Premier
. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.
"H.R.438 Fair Pay Act of 2013113th Congress (20132014)."
H.R.438
. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov.
2014.
James. "Female Professor Loses Equal Pay Appeal."
Employee Benefits (2014): 2.
Business Source
Premier
. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.
"Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act."
National Women 's Law Center
. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
"The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Fall 2014)."
AAUW: Empowering Women Since
1881
. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
Chambers
10
Six Reasons Why Equal Pay Is Still Important."
Name
. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014..
""Unequal Pay Is Immoral": Debating the Equal Pay Act of 1963."
"Unequal Pay Is
Immoral": Debating the Equal Pay Act of 1963
. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
"Weekly Address: It 's Time to Help Women and Working Families."
The White House
. The White
House, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.