Gender Pay Gap in the United States

What is gender pay gap this question arises from the gender inequality which exists from stone Age to the current modern age of industrialization and commercialization. This question exists all around the world regard less of east or west. The economists are trying hard to understand what gender pay gap is. And does it actually exist or is it only a myth or a misconception among the masses and legislators. They are turning every possible stone to  look  deep  down  into  this  issue  both  scientifically and  socially but  still   this the issue is a debate which needs a lot of accuracy and precision to be answered.

In   United  States  of  America   the  problem of  gender  pay  gap    is  diving  its think tank in two groups. One group that claims that in the USA for every dollar a man earns women earns 75 cents for the same job and the other group that supports the argument that less pay doesn’t mean unfair pay. One group that claims that gender pay gap emerges from the gender inequality existing from centuries and can be eliminated by economic empowerment of women .And the other group which argues that gender pay gap is nothing but the propaganda of   feminists who like to take edge over men by playing the victim card and by not considering the real reasons behind it.

Both  the  groups  have  justified  reasons  and evidence to  their  claims  which  need  to be looked upon with utmost responsibility  because it’s not  a  matter  of pay  gap  its  a  matter  of Gender  equality  and  no  gender  should  be  given  any  edge or  leverage  just  because of  their sex. Both  men  and  women  should  be  rewarded  on merit  and  should  be given their  fair share in economy and according to the contribution they make to the society.

Right from the young age during education women when it comes to the choice or selection of subjects, they are more into education and social sciences and less into engineering and medicine which result in low paid jobs. Although since 1990s trends have changed more and more women are entering male dominating occupations but still  there are  many  professions  which involve  physical  risk  like  deep  sea mining  and  armed  forces   they  have  less women  representation.(Antonczyk et al.)

The women usually start family and in that process, they don’t pursue specialization in their perspective fields and because of which they don’t develop the same amount of expertise as men of their age group.  Women sacrifice their time for their kids so they work on jobs fewer hours than men and are usually on less part-time jobs as compared to men. Women  have  to manage  their  families and  their  kids  in  parallel  so traveling for  acquiring  theoretical  knowledge  or  practical  exposure  is  less  often in women than in men  .starting  a  family  puts  a  break  in  their  carrier  right at the  beginning  of  their  professional  lives, and  it  exists  as  a  major

set back throughout the entire carrier of women because even after the break when they rejoin their jobs with full focus and time they can’t compete with men working right from the start without any break or any parallel responsibility of a family.

Women by nature are more family oriented they are driven by motherhood more than their carriers. They are more sacrificing when it comes to personal growth or self-exploration or self-actualization than the growth of their kids and generation. Women see their sense of achievement not only in their carriers alone but also in bringing up their kids as successful individuals. Here is where they sacrifice their time which of course could be given to their carriers.

Now  it  all depends  upon  the  angle  one  wants  to  see  women’s  contribution  towards their  families’ and  kids  and  motherhood    as  reason  for  their  less  expertise  at  work  then  men  or  as  a  reason  for  man  having  more time ,  exposure , experience , expertise  ,skills  and  being paid  more  for  it .women’s  motherhood  can  be  seen  upon  as  contribution  towards society  and  can  be  seen  upon  as  a  reason  for  their  less  contribution  of  time  energy and focus at work.

The  second  reason  of  the  gender  pay  gap  is  sexual  harassment as  workplaces  which  doesn’t  let  women reach  top  positions  and  develop  their  abilities and  get  paid  for  it   .women who  experience  sexual  harassment  at  their  jobs  become  less  productive  as  it  increases  workplace  stress for  them .

The third reason is the racism at the workplaces which result in gender pay gap a preference for white men or women over black women has been a reason which results in less equal    employment opportunity for women .  Women who face racism at workplaces usually can’t reach top influential positions and they are left with no other option than to accept odd jobs to earn their lively hood which results in fewer chances for them to grow.(Hegewisch et al.)  The solution of the problem lies only in correct legislation and bridging the gap between men and women when it comes to social responsibilities and mind set.Right from the beginning men should be taught to accommodate and support their counterparts both domestically and professionally. It’s not a matter of difference of pay or wages it’s a matter of acknowledging women role they make by sacrificing themselves for their families. It’s a matter of making them feel important, privileged and confident about their physical and spiritual existence.

References

Antonczyk, Dirk, et al. “Rising Wage Inequality, the Decline of Collective Bargaining, and the Gender Wage Gap.” Labour Economics, vol. 17, no. 5, 2010, pp. 835–47.

Hegewisch, Ariane, et al. “Separate and Not Equal? Gender Segregation in the Labor Market and the Gender Wage Gap.” IWPR Briefing Paper, vol. 377, 2010.