The gender wage gap is a controversial social issue that has constantly resurfaced throughout recent years. Even with the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women are still perceived to be at a disadvantage when comparing women’s yearly earnings to men’s yearly earnings. This not only applies to America, but seems to be a common issue in other countries (including Western countries) as well. Many people have heard the common statement that: “Women earn around 78 cents to a man’s dollar in the U.S.” Does this statement really hold true in today’s society, or is there something else that people have been overlooking these past few years?
My curiosity surrounding the gender pay gap sparked a lot of interest in me. I was always opened to the possibilities of there being an underlying stigma, gender discrimination, or sexism towards women of the workplace. Once I uncovered the possible, reasonable explanations of this wage gap, I came to a general consensus—yes, there is still a wage gap within society, but not in the way that the media portrays it to be. Rather, it is misleading a lot of people a majority of the time.
From prior knowledge, I already knew that the wage gap shown in the media was based off of “unadjusted” wage gap statistics, which is the average difference between women’s median salaries and men’s median salaries throughout the nation. The “unadjusted” wage gap does not take into account factors such as level of education, type of occupation, and hours worked. The reason why women were earning less as a whole was due to a majority of them dominating lower-paying jobs and working less hours. After recording this video, I learned that there is another specific type of wage gap: the “adjusted” wage gap, which takes into account many factors I mentioned previously. Statistics showed women earned anywhere from 93-96 cents/pence to a man dollar’s in multiple countries (including the U.S.). Women’s lack of negotiation skills and workplace incentives are the most possible explanations for this still-existing gap. There is a chance for discrimination to exist in the workplace as well, but going by statistics, there is little room for it to go unnoticed. There is no doubt that the wage gap might eventually come to a close in the near future with much support from thousands of organizations in America.
Dear Chelsy,
I am passionate about your post, “The Gender Pay Gap: Fact or Fiction?” because it elaborates on the disadvantage, as a female, that I have in comparison to a man. One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “The “unadjusted” wage gap does not take into account factors such as level of education, type of occupation, and hours worked. The reason why women were earning less as a whole was due to a majority of them dominating lower-paying jobs and working less hours.” I think this is significant in the wage gap controversy because it shows the other components to the argument. Another sentence that I found interesting was, “There is no doubt that the wage gap might eventually come to a close in the near future with much support from thousands of organizations in America.” This stood out for me because it gives me hope that the future will not be the same as the present. Your post reminds me of something that happened to me. One time, I too was faced with sexism. I was refused from a position that I knew I had all the credentials for but the only thing was, I was not a male therefore I never got the position. It was extremely discriminatory but of course, no justice. Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next because this post alone has given me enough ammunition to begin to find a way to fix this gap.
Much intrigued,
Charmaine Banks
Dear Chelsy,
I am passionate about your post, “The Gender Pay Gap: Fact or Fiction?” because it elaborates on the disadvantage, as a female, that I have in comparison to a man. One sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: “The “unadjusted” wage gap does not take into account factors such as level of education, type of occupation, and hours worked. The reason why women were earning less as a whole was due to a majority of them dominating lower-paying jobs and working less hours.” I think this is significant in the wage cap controversy because it shows the other components to the argument. Another sentence that I found interesting was, “There is no doubt that the wage gap might eventually come to a close in the near future with much support from thousands of organizations in America.” This stood out for me because it gives me hope that the future will not be the same as the present. Your post reminds me of something that happened to me. One time, I too was faced with sexism. I was refused from a position that I knew I had all the credentials for but the only thing was, I was not a male therefore I never got the position. It was extremely discriminatory but of course, no justice. Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next because this post alone has given me enough ammunition to begin to find a way to fix this gap.