What is the meaning of gender gap in earnings? Well according to Webster’s dictionary it is the differences between women and men, especially as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes. Some variables such as race, age and education affect the earnings ratio between both genders. Studies demonstrate that women consistently earn less than men across numerous demographic variables. Increase in women’s earnings relative to men’s can be attributed to either increases in the real earnings of women, declines in the earnings of men, or both operating at the same time. Women continue to earn less than men regardless of how you measure it, across time, throughout the life cycle, in all race and ethnic …show more content…
The earnings ratio in 1990 was highest among younger workers, gradually decreasing with age, and then increasing slightly around retirement. Women who are 16-24 years old earned nearly 87% of what comparably aged men earned, whereas women 35-39 years old earned 67% and women 50-54 years old earned 58%. The earnings ratio increased slightly at retirement age, with women 65 and older earning 67% of the male wage. When looking at education men without education earned particularly low salaries, in contrast to the very high pay of men with postgraduate degrees. Black women’s equivalent salaries ranged from 71% to 84% that of Black men. Black women with no schooling earned 74%. Increasing the education of individual women will not increase the female- to- male earnings ratio and eradicate the wage gap. Picture
An article called The Gender Gap in Earnings at Career Entry by Margaret Mooney Marini and Pi-Ling Fan explains why women continue to earn less than men what this is what they listed:
1. Women and men enter the labour market with somewhat different skills and credentials or different amounts and kinds of human capital
2. Because of gender differentiation in adult family roles women and men are in different family situation at career entry and family structure has different implications for the earnings of the 2 sexes
3. As a result of gender-role socialization and gender discrimination prior to labour market and entry, women and men have different work and family aspirations which cause them to aspire to different occupations in the labour
Numerous economists suppose that when work experience, education, and occupation are taken into consideration, women earn approximately equal to what men earn (Brittan & Onder 16). However, in recent decades, women have received more education, expanded their experience, and transferred toward higher paying occupations, so wouldn’t this mean that the wage gap would decrease? These economists state that since women, in general, are less involved in the labor market due to having children, providing elder care, this may lead to part-time work, meaning less pay than men, whom usually obtain full-time work. Also, women are also more likely to enter and leave work; women may lose their connection with the work force and may even regress professionally. While there are some factors that help explain the gap, a significant percentage remains unexplained, which is due to bias
Sometimes, women are not given the chance to make more money because employers think that men are stronger, smarter, or more experienced or skilled (Gender Differences 84). This obviously means that women do not get a fair chance to get higher paying jobs in some cases. However, women know how to fight and try to make things right. An example of this is in the article “Understanding the ‘‘Family Gap’’ in Pay for Women with Children”. Jane Waldfogel states that if women had “not increased their investments in education and experience, the gender pay gap would have widened in the 1980s simply due to the changes in the overall wage structure” (140).
Lastly, take risk as another factor. Majority of the workers in nearly all the most dangerous occupations, such as iron workers and loggers, are male, and 92 percent of work-related deaths in 2012 were to men. Males are also more likely to pursue occupations where compensation is risky from year to year, such as finance and law. Research shows that average pay in such jobs is higher to compensate for the risk. Therefore, due to the fact that women and men do different type of jobs and work different hours, the gap in wage is not related to gender discrimination and feminism is again proven to be irrelevant
Research shows wage gaps are solely a product of the choices of the second party. Woman have chosen what level of education they wish to pursue, the fields they wish to be in, and where they work. When looking back at a censuses of the early-to-mid 1900’s the majority of working women worked at small enterprises rather than booming companies: large Firms pay at higher rates, their payout going predominantly to males of the working class (Rubenstien, Michael Harvey). When taken under the scope, large enterprises rejected woman workers, and if they did hire, the lady’s income would be significantly smaller. Consequently, companies would deny the reason being that they were of a different sex, and rather blame it on how little education the skill the person had, “Frequently, even when given raises, their new pay still comes short of that of their male coworkers.
In fact according to Jane Gaskell, "Women earned 52.8% of what men earned in 1911, 58% in 1971 and 66% in 1996” (Gaskell Nd). This statistic proved that women earned significantly less than men throughout history. Even after women fought for equal pay it was still not fully achieved. Women’s fight for equal pay has come a long way.
They explain that the wage gap exists especially for black women because they are subject to racial and gender pay gaps. “On average, black women workers are paid only 67 cents on the dollar relative to white non-Hispanic men, even after controlling for education, years of experience, and location” (Wilson, Valerie, et al, 2017). What is going on? The
"Racial, Gender Wage Gaps Persist in U.S. despite Some" N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2016 This quote shows that even though women are still being paid less as a whole it is the women with different ethnicities that have it the worst. Another quote similar to the one above also points out facts and statistics to prove that women of color are treated even worse than white women, “By 2013,
black women earn 66 cents, while Hispanic women earn 56 cents for every dollar men earn.” (“Americans for a Fair Chance”) It is unfair that women are doing the same job as men and still get less payment. A lot of these jobs are either feminine or masculine. Such as, hair salon or engineering.
The gender pay gap is a significant issue in the United States because it promotes institutional and internal sexism and the unfair treatment of human beings. An infamous statistic about the wage gap has been the 77 cent statistic, stating that for every dollar a man earns, a woman earns 77 cents. The statistic is calculated by, “...dividing the median earnings of full-time, year-round, working women by the median earnings of full-time, year-round, working men, all rounded to the nearest $100” (Glynn 2). This, however, represents males and females from all occupations, causing opponents to argue that, because it does not represent the gap between people who have the same job, a wage gap does not exist. Nonetheless, multiple studies have proven that a gender pay gap does exist within the United States.
It may be 2018, but the gender pay gap is still here, why is that? Women have been and still are getting a lower pay than men to do the same job. Women are doing equal if not more work, but somehow make less. The following paragraphs will explain what is happening today like the fact that over time men 's pay increases more than women 's does. Besides that I will also mention that not just white women make less than men other cultures make even less than them, and I also will share real people speaking up about them being paid less than men.
The wage-gap between women and men in America exist. The income inequality exist because of male-dominated companies. In huge corporation, men are more likely to receive a raise and promotion in the workplace. Companies look towards male worker compared to female workers because health benefits the companies have to deal for towards women. Women cannot help if they have to go off work to deliver a baby.
The gender pay gap is the difference between earnings made by men and earnings by women. The Gender pay gap is generally due to various reasons, such as differences discrimination in hiring process, differences in negotiations for pay, differences in education choices, differences in the jobs men can go compare to women can’t easily go for. Some factors that cause the gender pay gap: • Women leave and re-enter the workforce to meet their family and children expectations • Low pay for some jobs, like childcare due to historical trends that continue • Lower educational levels of women due to traditions • Discrimination in the hiring process, compensation and promotion at workplace.
In his article, Mark Perry, the professor of economics and finance, argues if the gender wage gap is caused by discrimination. In his opinion, simply claim that women are paid less due to discrimination is “fundamentally misleading” and “economically illogical.” There are more factors that affects this issue. In addition to the physical differences between men and women, different hours of work, importance degree of children, and occupational selections also influence different earnings.
It is proven that gender does contribute to a difference in wages in society and there for another cause of wealth inequality. The U.N. has found that gender discrimination is still a significant factor in holding many women and children around the world in poverty. In many countries, there is a gender income gap in the labor market. For example, in America, statistics show that “The median full-time salary for women is 78 percent of that of men”; despite the fact women make up half the workforce. One of the reasons women earn less income/money in their lifetime is usually because they are single mums and/or have more people/family to support on their
The United States is currently facing an economical problem that involves males and female differences within the workplace. Males are given bigger and sometimes even better rewards for doing equal amounts of work as their female counterparts. Females are frequently not receiving the same wage even if they can complete the same job of a male. Also, females are less likely to get promoted within their job if they are competing against a male. A source states, “Women are now more likely to have college degrees than men, yet they still face a pay gap in every single education level,