Discrimination : The American Association Of University Women

When you think about women in the work field today, what do you see? A successful lawyer, a doctor, perhaps. That’s true. In fact, there have been more females holding high employment positions in the late 20th and 21st century than ever before. According to Donald M. Fisk in “Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003”, 60% of working-age women worked in the labor force in 1999. That’s 41% more than that of 1900, where only 19% of women worked in the labor force. Among these women, a vast majority have seen their salaries sky-rocket in the past two decades, almost surpassing those of male workers. However, it is not always this way.

Despite women having to take care of the domestic responsibilities and maintain a successful career, women are making just a mere 64.4% of what their male counterparts make. The inequality leaps off the paper (Julie Cool). Women being in the workforce have created a plethora of problems associated with gender inequality. Additionally aside from the inequalities, the new step for women to balance a home life and a job has brought change in the family structure. Mothers are not just mothers anymore, but are Doctors, Teachers, Entrepreneurs, and politicians as

Though the number of working women rose considerably in the last couple of years, but women are still much underpaid then their male counterparts. The United Nations recently published that for every dollar earned by men, women earned 70-90 cents globally. Statistics Canada also found that women workers in Canada earn an average of 66.7 cents for every dollar a man earns (Amber). Over the past couple of years, the gap has been documented to be increasing. In 2009, women use to earn 74.4 cents for every dollar a man earned, which reduced to 72-73.6 cents in 2011 (Evans). The American Association of University Women released a study that showed even when men and women attend the same kind of college, pick the same major and accept the same kind of job, on average, the woman earns 82 cents to every dollar that a man earns (Coleman). There is not even a single country where the average wages of women are more than men. This was proven by a study on the ratio of female to male earnings in European and non-European countries, conducted by the United Nation Statistics Division. It was found that the reason for these gender inequalities were associated with traditions and stereotypes which influence the education, professions and career paths women and men choose, and “often lead to part-time work and career breaks, mainly for women” (“The World’s”).

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,

It is a fact that women have earned less than men and still do today. Now day’s women are half of the workforce and they receive more college degrees than men do. Considering that; they make on average less than men. “Female full-time workers made only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 22 percent (Pay

The consequences of this type of discrimination lead to unequal pay for the same kind of work. “The American Association of University Women is releasing a new study that shows when men and women attend the same kind of college, pick the same major and accept the same kind of job, on average, the woman will still earn 82 cents to every dollar that a man earns” (Coleman) . This embodiment originates from the very popular credence that men provide for women in a family environment and that the wives’ are the parent who care for the children at home, therefore making them more unfocused in their workplace, hence the belief

Women nowadays have opportunities that were not obtainable in past decades but must overcome, or in most cases overlook, the barrier of being punished in the long run for simply being a woman; “gender differences in starting salaries are a significant contributor to long-term earning differentials between men and women” (Bowels and Babcock). It seems to me that in the workforce, a woman is a person just as a man is a person, if that person gets the job done right, he or she should be paid for doing so, if not, that person receives repercussions. The influence of gender on this issue is very curious as to why it is even a factor in the first place.According to “melanievarnell.wordpress.com” Doing research on the equal work equal pay topic has aroused many questions and proposed solutions, but the lingering query is why employers are still enabling this workplace behavior and discrimination in the 21st century. An article titled, “Equal Work for Equal Pay”: Not Even College Helps Women, was written by “Korva Coleman”; who claims that women are worth less than men when entering the workforce after completing a college degree. Throughout the article, Coleman supports her claim using different studies’ results that “show when men and women attend the same kind of college, pick the same major and accept the same kind of job, on average, the woman will still earn 82 cents to every dollar

In fact, progress for women and minorities in terms of both pay and power has stalled or regressed at many of the nation's biggest companies. This inequality shapes perceptions about who can or should be a leader.” (Hymowitz, 2008) This statement shows applicable reasoning as to why it is necessary to have equal pay between women and men in the workplace. When a company decides they are going to pay someone less money solely based off their gender without regards to their experience, it is discrimination and therefore the company is no longer an equal opportunity employer. Such practices need to be banned so our nation can truly say that we are all equal. Women need to form an alliance to prevent such discrimination from occurring and force our government to prohibit inequality in companies.

Women continue to face disadvantages in the workplace in regards to not receiving equal pay as well. There are many instances where women have the same or more qualifications to do a job than their male counterparts but do not receive the same pay. This difference in pay is not only related to gender differences but also racial differences. Women employees of different racial backgrounds tend to earn less money than their white female and male counterparts. Many women of color often face discrimination when applying to jobs and are overlooked for a position despite having the qualifications to do the work. When they are hired to these occupations they are not receiving the same pay as their white female counterparts. This double bind that minority women face within the work place continues to lead to economic hardships. Regarding women in the workplace in general, due to society’s high regard for men they are often not promoted to positions of authority or receive equal pay because people assume that women are inferior workers. (Buchanan, p205-207)

It is common knowledge that women make less than men do. Over the years, women have conquered many obstacles and have obtained many rights in the workplace, however inequality still exists. In another article, we see that in the year 2010, women only made seventy-seven cents of every dollar that men made (Gender Inequality and Women in the Workplace). The gap of pay has been lowered, but not significantly. Our gap is lower than in other countries, but that still doesn’t say a lot. This is a huge problem because, aside from having a job in the workplace, women are also responsible for taking care of their home and children, which costs a considerable amount of money. The money that women make can’t really meet the needs they

The American Association University of Women reports that the average full time workingwoman receives just 80% the salary of a man. In 1960, women made just 60% of what men made, an upward trend that can be explained “largely by women’s progress in education and workforce participation and to men’s wages rising at a slower rate”, but a trend that is not yet equal (p. 4). Hill recognizes that the choices of men and women are not always the same, whether it be in college major, or job choice, however she concludes that women experience pay gaps in virtually all levels of education and lines of work. She suggests that continuing to increase the integration of women in predominately male dominated work will help the pay gap, however, she believes that alone won’t be enough to ensure equal pay for women.

Reading research on equal pay for women has opened up many questions and has created different solutions, but the lingering question is why have employers let this behavior and discrimination in the workplace, in the 21st century. An article titled, Equal Work for Equal Pay: Not Even College Helps Women, by Korva Coleman; who has claimed that women are considered worth less than men when going into the workforce after receiving their college degrees. Throughout the entire article, Coleman supports her claim by using different studies’ that, “show when men and women attend the same kind of college, pick the same major and accept the same kind of job, on average, the woman will still earn 82 cents to every dollar that a man earns” (Coleman).

A topic that is often debated is whether there is a difference in pay for women doing comparable work with men. It is a fact that women on average make 78 percent of what a man makes while doing almost the same work. The first article discussed delivers evidence that wage disparity does in fact exist by using a first hand account of a woman directly affected by the wage gap’s injustice and correct statistics that are not outdated. The second source does not focus on one type of job, level of education, or length at the workplace that a woman may work in, instead this article attacks women for wanting to spend time with their families and not constantly work.

Inequalities between men and women have historically been reduced in the labor market, in the family and schools. This progress deserves to be underlined, and even honored. Nevertheless, inequalities remain, and some have even amplified. And, there is a considerable gap between the wages of men and women. Moreover, they don't have the same advantages in the labor market, especially since the woman has returned to it much later and is beginning to assert herself, with still much struggle. Women are always subjected to more discrimination and unemployment on a daily basis than men. And there is a large part of society that thinks it's right for things to go this way. Even though the path remains long to reach a true parity between the two sexes, we must keep seeking it.

Half of the workforce is women, yet why are incidents of gender discrimination still prevalent? Whether in terms of hiring, work pay, job classification, or benefits, it is common for women to encounter discrimination in the work force. Like men, women receive graduate degrees and exhibit competent working behaviors, yet reports have shown that women earn less than men, working in the same job positions. Research has presented that “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 Equity & Discrimination). Working in comparison to men, women are often degraded for their work efforts. Although much progress has exhibited women entering the workforces of “masculine” jobs, statistics still present little significant progression against gender discrimination.