Pay Gaps During World War II

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When did this pay gap begin? In World War II, men went off to war, while women stayed behind in charge of doing their work, plus taking care of the children. The National War Labor Board urged employers in 1942 to “voluntarily make adjustments that equalize wage or salary rates paid to females while the males where at war” (Brunner and Rown). Employers did not follow this request, and women lost their jobs as veterans returned. In the early 1960’s, newspapers printed jobs according to sex, with almost all the higher-level jobs listed under: “Help Wanted-Male”(Brunner and Rown). Between the 1950s and 1960s, women with full time jobs earned on average between 59-64 cents for every dollar the men made in the same job. It wasn’t until the Equal

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