Gender Wage Gap

4104 Words17 Pages
Gender Wage Gap Abstract This paper will attempt to examine causes of the gender wage gap. A thorough evaluation on when it was first noticed, what has been achieved in the past to combat the issue and what is being done in the present to abolish it for the future generations will be provided. In addition, the scale of gender wage gap, nationally and globally will be assessed. An understanding of the factors, which caused this issue, will be offered. Lastly, the question of if the gender wage gap is real or not will be postulated. Introduction Women account for one-half of a country’s potential talent base, and a nation’s competitiveness in the long term depends significantly on whether and how it educates and utilizes its women (World Economic Forum). However, a recent study examining the gender wage gap over the past 10 years revealed that the median yearly salary of full-time female workers is 77% of the median yearly salary of full-time male workers. Explained to the public, in a generalized manner, as women only make 77 cents to a man’s dollar, it quickly became a major “speaking” point for President Barack Obama’s last presidential campaign. In reality this generalized version of the study is misleading. When broken down by race, compared to a white man’s dollar; white women make 77 cents per dollar, black women, 69 cents and Latina women, 57 cents. In addition, the information in the campaign did not account for type of job, amount of hours, level of education nor the possibility that some women may not need or do not want to work. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in an effort to abolish wage discrimination based on gender. In 1963, women were earning an average of 59 cents on the dollar compared to men. In addition to the demand for equal pay among the sexes, the Equal Pay Act provided tax breaks and day care centers to

More about Gender Wage Gap

Open Document