A Gender Pay Gap

In today’s society we are faced with a controversial decision on whether or not we have a gender wage gap or a gender earnings gap. Many companies are faced with a gender wage gap while just as many see a genders earning gap or even nothing at all. Within Whitley County, where I live, both of these situation are presented. When looking at all the factors going into pay they include skill, effort, responsibility, working conditions, and establishment (Facts About Equal Pay). While society is split on whether a gender pay gap does exist or not, society still strives for changes to occur, less discrimination in the workplace, and how gender sometimes takes a toll in the workplace. The Sides Explain Their Views While everyone has different views

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy tried to make changes by signing the Equal Pay Act in 1963 as “a first step” (Billitteri). Since this act was put in place, the wage disparity has narrowed but there still appears to be a gap. While this gap is narrowing, women are still not getting paid the same as men. For example the average pay for women globally is $12,000 compared to men being paid $21,000. This gap is not forecasted to close for another 217 years (Saraogi). In order to change this many countries will go into even more debt than they already are. Closing the disparity would cost Britain $250 billion, the United States $1,750 billion, and China a whopping $2.5 trillion (Saraogi). While in an average financial stable citizens eyes that looks like a enormous amount of money, in the government 's eyes thought that 's like buying a candy bar. The government invest that much money in studies, experiments, and spying on other countries sometimes as well. So some may ask, why is the government paying that much money towards other countries, but fail to make sure that employees are being paid the same? Well, there are ways that the government tries to help improve this gap in the workplace as well. Former President Obama, urged the Senate to pass a Paycheck Fairness Act, where the intention of the act is to make it easier for women to sue their employers for gender discrimination (Biggs). The effect of this

Part of this is the trade skills that varies between employees and also what degrees they have. Some jobs are more hazardous than others that cause these employees to be vulnerable every day and to jeopardize their lives with every second and every move they make. Some of these jobs include being electricians, firefighters, policemen, etc. With electricians, the linemen are going to make more than the person that spots him. Even though they are both in the same harsh conditions throughout the seasons, the lineman has a higher chance of getting hurt because he is actually working with the electrical lines. In this case both of these workers could be the same gender, but because one is at a higher risk of there life, the one working with the wires is going to get paid more. If we didn’t pay these more hazardous jobs more money we would have a pay parity, where we would pay both members the same for working the same amount no matter the danger that one may be in. Another statement made is that it is because women choose junior level jobs. Many companies state that this is why it seem like there is a gender pay gap when looking at all the data and statics. Retailer Phase Eight, a company with one of the largest “pay gaps” at 65 cents, stated that “ The staff in our stores are overwhelmingly female”