Argumentative Essay: Should Women Be Paid?

Since the late 19th century, women have been struggling with the issue of not receiving the same amount of pay as men. The gender wage gap was not seen as a major issue until the 1960s, however, and unfortunately, it is still a major issue in our world today. (cite source). In the early 1900’s, World War I caused many men to leave their families behind to fight for their country. As a result of this, women had to take the responsibility of the male roles in the workforce. Women were expected to do the same jobs as men did before they were deployed, but were paid less to do so (cite source). This problem still exists in our world today. In 2011, it was proven that the weekly earnings for a female full-time worker is $684, compared

After years of Civil Rights Movements and Pay Equity Acts, as of 2014, women still only make 79 cents to a man 's every dollar. Although the wage gap has shrunk since the 1970’s, progress has recently stalled and chances of it vanishing on its own is unlikely. The gains that American women have made towards labor market experience and skills is tremendous. In fact, women account for 47% of labor workforce and 49.3% of American jobs. But despite of women’s strides, a gender pay gap still exists. Experts suggest that it will take 100 years to close the gap at the rate employers and legislators are working to create solutions. But by allowing women to work in higher paying positions and by proposing and updating pay equity laws, the gender gap can finally be diminished.

Ninety-five years ago the nineteenth amendment was passed giving women in America the right to vote (America’s Historical Documents), this was a pivotal step for women rights. Since then women’s rights have increasingly advanced throughout America: in politics and in the workforce. In fact “women today make up almost half of all worker in the United States” (The State of Women in America). Sadly though, women are paid less than males in the workforce. "Women in the United States are paid only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes" (The State of Women in America). One question that derives from this topic is: why are women still not getting paid as much as men? Women should get paid as equally as men do. A fair argument to make against the topic is the difference in the types of work a woman and a man does (Debate). For example in construction men are tasked with most of the heavy lifting as opposed to a women that do not have as much

In American society today there is an imbalance in the gender income gap between men and women in the work force. Many factors such as discrimination, productivity, educational background and disproportional hours worked contribute to this ongoing challenge. While many are skeptical, others remain to have strong beliefs that women and men are treated equally. In most professions according to Glynn “women only earn seventy seven cents for every dollar earned by men” (2014). Although, the seventy seven cents figure does not accurately reflect gender discrimination, it does capture some discrimination,

For the first time in history women had surpassed men in the paid labor force. Yet, instead of provoking an equality among the sexes, the figures play no statistical significance, as women still try to bridge the gap between their inequality among their male counterparts. One apparent setback for women in the workplace is their unequal payment, “Women workers are still paid less than men, currently about-three quarters of mens income if they work full time and year round”(Institute for Womens’s Policy Research, 2010). Although there women are beginning to integrate into vastly male populated jobs throughout the labor force “… women in America today earn 78 cents to a man’s dollar, according to the U.S Census Bureau, and have struggled for decades to achieve pay for equal work” (Riley 2). Not only has this pay gap significantly effected the nature of women throughout the county, it has also violated the bill that Congress passed called the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The Equal Pay Act was signed in order to establish a more sound and equal treatment among the sexes. It noted that an employer was unable to discriminate employees on grounds of gender, yet as figures denote today, this bill seems to not possess enough jurisdiction over the wage gap. The wage gap has contributed to various problems within the United States, especially among single mothers who do not have a supporting male figure within their household.

Inequality has been a dilemma for several years in countless different ways. A persistent problem with disproportion of income between women and men has been lingering within many companies in the United States. It has been said that women earn less money than men in the workplace for many different reasons. Some of these reasons are that women have not spent enough time in the office to be rewarded with raises and bonuses because they are busy with their home lives and taking care of their children, they, unlike men, have been taught to be timid and unaggressive which ultimately steers them away from requesting higher pay, or they do not meet the qualifications to receive promotions (Hymowitz, 2008). This essay is in response to On

Throughout the world history and current day, discrimination is a constant battle for many people: Whether it’s gender, race, religion, appearances, or anything else that makes people unique in their own way, it happens everyday. One issue that occurs daily revolves around the women in America - the gender pay wage gap. Equally educated and trained, women who have had the same experiences as men are not earning equal pay. Women make up almost half of the work force. “In 2015, female full-time, year-round workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent” (Pay Equality). Many actresses and female athletes have been affected and gone public about this; it is important that people know why equal pay is crucial for all women, the causes of the wage gap, and how equal pay helps everyone in society. There is no myth following the gender pay wage gap - and here’s why.

In many occupations, even if women do obtain the requirements and more of what is expected of a certain job title, and a man does not, the man gets chosen over the woman. Unfortunately, this is currently happening within my workplace. Even though many women have the exact requirements and more to get promoted, because there are very little men in my workplace, they have always gotten the promotion over the women, while having less of what is required by them. Although they are not getting compensated with more money, they are given the opportunity for more responsibility and more work hours which gives them time to accumulate that extra money. When questioned about this particular issue, the requirements not being met, it is just said that it is being “taken care of.” It just makes one wonder, if we aren’t able to advance now, in regular jobs, are we going to be able to excel in our future careers? “A 2012 AAUW report, Graduating to a Pay Gap: The Earnings of Women and Men One Year after College Graduation, found that the pay gap exists one year out of college — and gets worse over the course of a woman’s career. The study controlled for factors known to affect earnings, such as education, parenthood, and hours worked, and found that women earn 7 percent less than men earn just one year out of college, even when they have the same major and occupation”

The Constitution states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men were created equal”. Yet, it is the twentieth century and we still haven’t reached this state. Women believed that when we gained the rights to vote discrimination would be over, but they were wrong. Today women are paid a large percentage amount less than men are paid, and the percentage is worse for colored women. In the following paragraphs I will be providing you with stunning facts about the wage gap that you may not have known even existed.

Throughout history, it has been proven that women have been neglected and looked down on by men. They were denied the right to vote as if they were not even recognized as human beings. African American men got the right to vote before women did. Women have been looked upon as objects or trophies and not given the respect as they deserve. Women should be treated fairly, equal to men and need to be acknowledged as such. In many cases, women working with the same qualifications are paid less than men, doing the same job. In 2015 studies showed that women were only paid 80% of what men were paid. A hefty 20% gap was in place (Miler,2017). Back then, 1 in every 3 women would be working for a wage, not a good one at that (Danzer).

Gender equality in salary is always unfair. Men employees always receive higher wages than women employees had received. Companies would like to hire men employees compared to women employees because they believed women employees are weak and cannot competent in the workplace although they have abilities and skills. As a conclusion, our research has proven that this theory was true.

In addition to discrimination in education, women face discrimination in jobs around the world including the United States. Women are not paid same as men in America. Women working in the same fields as men will not get the same amount of money as men. Research illustrates that there is twenty percent gap between men and women’s income in the United Sates, where there is eighteen percent gap between them worldwide. Some women are not hired in companies. Aamer Madhani writes in USA Today that the White House in recent weeks has repeatedly highlighted government data that indicates women earn seventy-seven cents for every dollar in wages paid to men (USA 1). It is a Law in the United States to provide everyone equal opportunities, but it does not seem happening. Nobody follows the laws. Even though, women complain about it, nobody listens to them. It is not fair that women are not paid equally; either, businesses should pay them same amount, as men, or government should interfere in companies who

Women receive lower pay rates than men. Not only do women get paid less because of their gender, they also get paid less because of their race and age. Women typically earn less money than men because of the pay gap that is created between genders. The pay gap in gender is becoming a main subject that people talk about because it is affecting many of women’s lives. When women make less

The fight for gender equality in the workplace has been ongoing for fifty years. Women have been looked to as inferior in the workplace in the United States for the better part of a decade. While they have made tremendous strides in getting equalization, ladies are still cheated out of the money that men are receiving for the same career. The gender wage gap is real and it grows over worker’s careers. Though it used to be a gap because of education between the genders, the education gap has been switched genders, and if the gender gap was closed, there would be a huge economic stimulus.

For generations, women and men have been held to different standards when it came to the work force and in recent years, the United States has began to see a breakthrough with these barriers starting to diminish. However, pay inequality still remains prevalent. Men and women working the same jobs are not receiving the same wages and that doesn’t make sense to majority of society. As of 2013, women are only making about 78% of what men make (Hill, 2015) and into 2015 we’re still hovering around the same number. Many are confused as to why there is pay inequality between men and women in the same occupations and that’s why the question trying to be answered here is: what are the causes of gender pay inequality among the workforce in the United States and have they changed over time? Many scholars and people in society might think it hasn’t changed much, but starting with a brief history of US women in the workforce, we will see that there are very obvious upward trends even if a gap still does exist.