You’ve likely heard of the wage gap. 79 cents to a woman for every dollar a man earns. However, how factually sound are these arguments? Do women really get payed less than men? For years, people have complained about a wage gap between the sexes, some say there is no wage gap. In fact, there is no wage gap. Yes, the average amount women take home is definitively less than the average men take home, but this average is unreliable. The wage gap does not exist because the statistics do not take in a number of circumstances, men and women choose different career paths, and women are more likely to work less. One of the reasons the wage gap is a lie, is that the statistics don’t take into account a lot of different key components that could explain the reason women’s average pay is less than men’s. For instance, they don’t take into account women who only work part time, or women who work less hours. Some may argue that even when a man and woman work the same job for the same amount of hours, the man will still be payed 21 cents more. This is simply a lie, there is no proof to backup this statement. When a person, no matter their …show more content…
gender or ethnicity, signs up for a job, they agree to work for a certain amount of money per hour. It would be illegal for an employer to then pay the person less because the employee is a woman, or black, or a black woman. In short, the wage gap does not accurately represent the pay between men and women.
Another reason the wage gap simply doesn’t exist is that men and women choose different career paths. According to the Women’s Bureau, women are more likely to go into the education field, as a teacher, and a man is more likely to go into sales. The average salary of a teacher is $55,000 per year, whereas a sales worker earns $57,000 per year. Men choose higher paying careers than women, consequently earning more. On the other hand, the second most common job choice among women is a registered nurse, and among men it is a manager. The pay for a manager varies, with the average being $55,744 however, it is not uncommon for men to be paid $66,629 annually. Average pay for a registered nurse again is one that varies with the average being $68,450 though depending on their rank, nurses can be payed up to $102,990 or a low of $47,120. So yes, a majority of women do make less than men, however this is because they chose a lower-paying career. Simply put, women get paid less because a majority of them chose lesser paying jobs than the majority of men. The final reason the wage gap is only a myth is that it’s been shown that women work less hours.
It’s not sexist to say that women work less, it’s a fact. The minimum hours an employee may work is 35 hours a week, with a maximum of 48 hours per week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average full-time working woman work 8.2 hours a day, whereas a man will work 8.9 hours daily. It’s clear that men work more, consequently earning more. A common response to this fact is that it’s not true, this is the mind of a liberal. However, numerous sources say men work 42-45 minutes a day more than women, with the exception of the biased Huffington Post, saying women work 32 hours more than men per year. Simply put, men work more hours than women, subsequently earning more. It’s irrational to say
otherwise. The wage gap is a controversial subject, with overwhelming evidence pointing to it being a lie. The wage gap does not exist because the statistics do not take in a number of circumstances, men and women choose different career paths, and women are more likely to work less. Many arguments against these statistics is that they are false, or bias. Which is a simply false statement. So next time you get your paycheck, you don’t have to feel bad about being paid more because you are a man, or worry about being paid less if you are a woman. Enjoy your money knowing that you were paid to do your job, and if the opposite sex stole that job from you, they would be paid the same.