The reason the income gap is over exaggerated is because the gap does not account for differences in occupations, education, job tenure, negotiating skills, and work habits. To fairly assess whether there is an inequality in pay between men and women first we must understand the job fields that men and women are in. Earlier this year the democratic party took the stance of women as they tried to pass the “Paycheck Fairness Act”. (CNN) The fact that the democrats pushed to pass this act might give off the idea that men are getting paid more than women for the same job. While sometimes this may be true we have to acknowledge the fact that this may even be the case backwards as women might get paid more than men in certain fields.
Fulcher & Scott (2011) believe gender to examine the differences between men and women in relation to feeling, thinking and behaving. When focusing on gender and how it is socially constructed, this essay will first determine the distinction between gender and sex, the inequalities between genders in relation to health and employment, and finally, will consider the extent to which gender is socially or biologically constructed. Sociological thinking of gender is relatively new in the sociological realm. It was only from the 1970s that sociologists began to make a distinction between gender and sex. The women’s movement and the consequent development of feminist ideas in the 1960s and 1970s influenced the question of gender and began emphasise the importance of gender as a concept of its own.
The question to be looked at is ‘What does it mean to be a woman?’Although there has been some progress in the past 30 years, particularly in women’s education and employment equality, there are still many inequalities and also more inconspicuous issues affecting the women of today including domestic violence and rape and sexual abuse and I would like to look further into this. So, what does it mean to be female in today’s society? Though there has been some improvement in gender equality, women are still oppressed. Today’s women earn one-tenth of the worlds income, occupy only 18% of seats in the worlds parliaments, comprise two-thirds of the exploited informal workforce, and for women aged 15-44 gender violence accounts for more deaths and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war (World Health Organisation 2005). Studies show women are paid less even when doing the same job with the same experience as their male counterparts
Some believe that wage inequality was caused by educated people versus uneducated people. Many positions search for certain skills and if you happen to be in the right place at the right time then you would receive a position with a decent wage. The wage inequality for the building industry is based off of the fairness of wages paid to all involved. Even when the building industry is booming the wages generally stay the same and do not increase. This is because of the illegal immigrants that will quickly fill any openings and work for lower wages.
GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE The following excerpt is from the self help psychology book, Be Your Own Therapist. Recent statistics in some sections of the country have shown that for those under the age of thirty, equal pay for equal work has arrived in the workplace for women, Hispanics and African-Americans (it has been there for some time for Asian-Americans and gays). Great! Workplace gender discrimination is fading! What often has been overlooked by those complaining about gender discrimination in the job market workplace are the choices made by the complainants.
Research performed by the American Progress Organization shows that nearly 6 out of 10 women are the primary, sole, or co-provider for their family. As more dependence is being placed on women, the wages are expected to match with those demands. A route to a faster improvement would be to raise the minimum wage. The demand for more money is very high and women make up two-thirds of the minimum wage workers. A raise in the minimum wage gap would inadvertently help everyone, while still deliberately aiding in the step for equality in the workplace.
Raising that wage could mean a raise for millions of workers. Childcare support shows that a lack of access or ability to afford childcare can be one of the most significant barriers to getting a job and staying in it. But if government fully funded childcare programs, mother’s overall employment would increase. By getting women to brave discrimination and socialization to take these jobs, and getting these employers to reach out to women, and getting more men into low-pay service jobs, and getting women the training and education they need for male-heavy jobs should all be a pretty easy to accomplish. Works Cited 50 Years After the Equal Pay Act, The Gender Gap Persists: http://www.npr.org/2013/06/10/189280329/50-years-after-the-equal-pay-act-gender-wage-gap-endures 10 Things You Didn’t Know about the Gender Gap: http://healthland.time.com/2013/11/11/ten-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-gender-gap/ Freakonomics: Women are not Men: Gender Gap Program on NPR: http://www.wnyc.org/story/301155-freakonomics-radio-women-are-not-men/ The Man Box: Tony Porter: A Call to Men, video on men and masculinity: http://www.ted.com/talks/tony_porter_a_call_to_men.html
The United States of America has had a long history of an inequality of payment between men and women, even in the current year women are still sometimes paid less than a man is even if they are performing in the same job. However, there are multiple factors that result in this “pay gap”. It is not solely based on gender discrimination as paying a women less than a man and a man less than a woman just because of their gender is a federal crime which is punishable the employer having to either pay a large fine, damages, termination of right of action and even imprisonment. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 can be defined as: “It is required that employees be given equal pay for equal work regardless of sex. In other words, it is illegal for employers to pay women less than men for the same work or for men to be paid less than women for the same work” – Refer to Sources F & G. It is by law, Illegal for an employer to pay a woman less than a man simply because she is a woman.
Although it is not those who raise one whom are to blame for gender inequality. Gender inequality begins during the history of how evolution caused us to be segregated of the two groups of male and female. As an outcome of these gender roles came the affect of gender inequalities, in Family households and in the Workplace. As my research hopes to show, that I believe gender inequalities are learned through ones family and are reflected in the workplace. History of how evolution taught us to have Gender roles The history of how we came to be starts in the early ages of the Homo erectus.
Differences in aggressiveness are another feature of gender roles, this is sown in meads study, and she observed three countries in Papua New Guniea and found that males were more aggressive than females. Mead also observed cultural differences where in some cultures females were more aggressive than other females. This is known as cultural realism in which aggression is innate within us but the level of which the behaviours are performed is relative to their particular culture. Sex stereotypes affect gender roles according to the Williams and best study. They studies 30 different countries, 2800 university students used as participants.