Teen jobs do offer plenty of opportunities and experiences to build a person’s skills for future work. But, they also open an opportunity for encountering troubling assumptions and unequal workplace cultures. Not only is there unfair treatment, but there are also the gender and age pay gaps that play a part in teen jobs. For example, in the article the author writes on how girls start babysitting at a young age to learn how to take a job. But, they are expected to be better at the job than a young boy. This is due to stereotypes which typically end in the girl being paid less than the boy. And this is just one example. Yasemin Besen-Cassino, professor of sociology at Montclair State University studies teen gender pay gaps. She found no pay gap for kids ages 12 to 13, but by ages 14 to 15, it emerges and widens with age. Girls have to be prepared to make less money in jobs in the future, which just should not be the case. It is important to talk to teens to resolve these issues. Girls should learn from this unfair treatment through learning their self worth and strong negotiation skills. This unfair treatment will in turn teach them to be stronger than they ever had been. This includes how to stand up for themselves in instances of unequal pay, workplace harassment, and much more.
