The Gender Pay Gap

“When women succeed, America succeeds”

~President Barack Obama

Imagine being a hard-working woman with a successful career and a well-known name. Now imagine making 0.07% of what your male counterpart is making. Unfortunately, in today's world, imagining this is not impossible, seeing as though it is happening right now in Hollywood. Michelle Williams, a famous actress known for The Greatest Showman, made merely $1,000 when asked to reshoot certain scenes from All The Money In The World due to the abolishment of an actor pegged with sexual misconduct charges. To Mark Wahlberg, William’s counterpart and equally accredited actor with numerous famous movies in his repertoire such as Ted, these reshoots added 1.5 million to his bank account. With

I know that things are quite different in Hollywood and countless hard-working Americans are not dealing with that volume of money. However, this example perfectly ties into an issue that has plagued women in multiple countries from the second they entered the workforce: the gender wage gap. For if women in 2018 can work, receive the same education as men, and hold high tier positions such as CEO, how does it make sense that they are still making less than men for the same positions?

It is a fact that some people do not believe in the gender wage gap and if they do believe in it, they believe that the gap is justifiable based on certain factors. However, those people who advocate and support the gender wage gap do not even know what the true definition is since it is often used incorrectly and applied to situations where it should not be. Therefore, when it says “gender wage gap” that means the difference in base salary between male and females on both hourly and yearly scales within an

These differences come from a variety of factors such as race, age, education, dedication, and experience. As a female citizen of the United States, I am lucky that my wage gap is not as large as wage gaps from other countries. When I enter the workforce I will make 79 cents to every dollar that men make; however, if I worked in Canada I would not fare as well, seeing as though Canadian women only make 73.5 since compared to Canadian men (Schieder; Grant). If the gender wage gap lessens at the same rate each year as it is now, it is estimated that Caucasian women will see equal pay in 41 years or in the year 2059. For African American women, however, another 65 years is added merely because the color of their skin is different from others. The worst though is for Hispanic women; equality in pay is not expected to come to them until 2233 (Pay). This all goes to show truly how unique each case can become. An analysis by Oxfam Canada and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives states that the gender wage gap is not merely because the stereotypical woman works less than men or because women have a different degree of education or experience. The analysis states that “Even when all of these factors are considered, the result remains the same: a wage gap” (Grant). With this quote in mind, it is clear that although aspects such as schooling and involvement within an