Gender pay gap/inequality in the US
Introduction
The gender pay gap can be defined as the ratio of female compared to male using the earnings earned from employment. The average salary of women in the US is rated at 78% compared to that of men which is rated at 82%. This shows that there exists a pay gap since men are paid more compared to women regardless of the occupation and working hours. Discrimination plays a major role in the gender pay gap since women are discriminated and given less salaries compared to men in the same job group. The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that it will take more than 115 years for the pay gap to be close. This is a very long time since the gender pay gap in the US is getting worse compared to other countries. In addition, the WEF added that gender pay gap is narrowing at a very slow rate globally since currently women are said to earn what men used to earn a decade ago. In the US the gap stands at 64% indicating that women earn almost two thirds of what men earn within the same job group and working hours. The gap in the US is worsening since last year it was ranked at 66%. Both men and women within the same job group should earn equal amounts since the working hours and education levels are similar. This has never been the case though since in all countries globally, men make more than women. For instance in Brazil women do not even earn half of what men work even though they are performing equal amounts of job. Therefore this paper will focus on analyzing the gender pay gap in the US since the gap is known to be getting worse.
Gender wage gap can be described by a number of figures since it is now a global problem since women are paid little compared to men in the same job groups. The Census Bureau does the statistic on the wage gap and reports that on an annual base women get paid more than 70 cents for every dollar earned by men (Boeri, Patacchini & Peri, 2015). Another measure focuses on hourly wages including workers who work part time. The report from this measure is that women get paid 83 cents for every dollar earned by men (Boeri, Patacchini & Peri, 2015). Other measures tend to look at the occupation experience and education level since the two contribute to the gender wage gap. People should not make assumptions that measuring the gender wage gap correctly will solve the discrimination cases on gender wage against women.
There exist large racial and gender pay gaps especially in the US though some progress has been seen. A survey showed that in 2015 blacks earned 75% compared to whites. The white men lead in the hourly earnings compared to all other races and gender groups (Boeri, Patacchini & Peri, 2015). White men are seen to earn more compared to other people or groups within the same job group. Generally, white men earn more compared to other gender or race groups and have the largest numbers in the employment field. Asian and white women are seen to get more earnings compared to Hispanic and black women as well as men. This shows that racial discrimination has dominated the US since white and Asian women earn less than white men but more than the black and Hispanic men. Women living in America have tried to narrow the wages gap since 1980 (Boeri, Patacchini & Peri, 2015). The women want to get equal wages with the men since they get equal education opportunities meaning they have got equal capabilities. Research shows that more women compared to men are enrolled in different universities meaning that they want to get equal opportunities and wages with the men. White and Asian women have however narrowed the wage gap compared to the black and Hispanic women (Boeri, Patacchini & Peri, 2015). The Hispanic women performed worst in narrowing the wage gap while the white women performed best since they want wage equality. On the other hand, black and Hispanic men haven’t made any progress in bridging the gap between them and the white men.
Research has attributed the wage inequality issue to the level of education since few blacks and Hispanic people are enrolled in the colleges and universities. Workers in the US with a four year bachelor’s degree as said to earn more compared to those with high school education (Boeri, Patacchini & Peri, 2015). Most whites are educated compared to the black and Hispanic people who get few education opportunities compared to the whites. Wage gap in the US is however not only affected by the education levels but race, ethnicity and gender are put in place. Black men with equal education levels as white men earn less indicating that wage equality is affected by racial differences. Black men and women face discrimination therefore end up getting low wages compared to whites working in similar organizations with equal working hours. Black and Hispanic women with equal education levels are seen to earn 70% compared to white men showing that discrimination based on gender and race affect wage equality (Boeri, Patacchini & Peri, 2015).
Gender pay gaps are attributed to different causes and research shows out that rather than discrimination based on race, education and occupation experience plays a major role in widening the wage gap. In 2010, research found out that education accounted for 8% of the total pay gap while occupation experience accounted for 51% of that wage difference (Blau, Gielen & Zimmermann, 2012). The remaining percentage is attributed to different factors including discrimination. Most Americas argue out that racial discrimination does not happen at the places of work but majority of blacks suggest otherwise. 64% of blacks living in America feel that they are not treated fairly compared to the whites in different work places. Blacks feel they get discriminated compared to the whites in the organization (Boeri, Patacchini & Peri, 2015). White and Asian women are paid more than the black men which indicates blacks are face racial discrimination and eventually get paid in an unfair manner (Blau, Gielen & Zimmermann, 2012). Hispanics from the research felt that they were treated unfairly even during hiring since most organizations look out for whites. Both Hispanics and blacks feel that ethnicity is one of the challenges hindering them from becoming successful. They feel that if ethnicity did not exist, they would remain successful just like the whites since they have equal capabilities.
Women on the other hand feel that gender inequality has hindered them from attaining success. 27% of women feel that gender has made it hard for them to succeed in life while 7% of men feel that gender has hindered women from succeeding (Farrell, 2004). Most women from the research conducted said that gender discrimination at the places of work is on the increase and thus have to cope up with it. Women say that gender discrimination makes them earn less compared to men after performing similar amounts of work. Women feel that gender is one of the major contributing factors as to why they earn low wages. Women think they can close the gap by being educated more (Farrell, 2004). This is not the case since men and women with equal education levels doing the same job are not equally paid. Men are paid more yet the work load and education level are similar. This clearly indicates that getting more education will not help close the wage gap. The wage gap tends to increase with increase in education level.
Women believe that they can close the wage gap by choosing different occupations as to those of men. Some people argue out that the wage gap widens as a result of how men and women are distributed to various occupations. Women can try closing the gap if they chose to work in occupations which do not favor men but are well paying (Farrell, 2004). This will even reduce cases of gender discrimination in the places of work since women will work in occupations that favor them therefore men will not be available. The gender wage gap problem can get solved if women fail to work in male dominated occupations and instead work in occupations that favor them and which are well paying (Levitt & Dubner, 2006). Women with children are expected to pay a motherhood penalty unlike men with children. This is unfair since both are supposed to be subjected to penalties thus men should pay fatherhood penalties as well.
The gender pay gap is usually a problem for women at all levels of the wage. Men always end up earning more than women in all levels and types of occupation. The wage gap however is highest at those occupations where employees are well paid. Research shows that women working in well paid occupations experience a wider gender pay gap compared to those who work in low paid occupations (Rosin, 2012). Women are paid less because of inflexible working hours and responsibilities they have to carry out at home. Immigrant women in the US experience gender wage gap since they are paid less compared to the native women. Foreign workers are disadvantaged in terms of wages but unfortunately foreign women are more disadvantaged and experience wide wage gaps. Research shows that the wage gap is expected to rise in the few years regardless of the education levels and occupation experience of women. Women are known to have less occupation experiences compared to men and this factor contributes to the gender wage gap (Rosin, 2012). Gender discrimination too plays a major role in the gender wage gap since most women face discrimination in the places of work regardless of the work experience.
Generally women do not work for similar amount of hours compared to men. Women are more likely to work in low paid jobs compared to men thus they end up earning low. Most organizations prefer people who work for long hours and some specific hours. These conditions do not favor women since they have to take care of their families thus men tend to get such paying job opportunities (Levitt & Dubner, 2006). The wage gap tends to widen where women cannot work equally compared to men but narrows where women and men have equal working conditions. Women cannot work under certain conditions like men since they have much home responsibilities compared to men. This explains why the gender wage gap is expected to rise since responsibilities will not come to an end. Most women prefer working part time since the working hours favor them compared to men who prefer working on full time basis (Levitt & Dubner, 2006). Part time workers are lowly paid compared to those who work on full time basis. This explains why the wage gap will not close any time soon since women will continue working part time because of responsibilities therefore will end up getting low wages.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the gender wage gap is a major challenge globally since women face wage gap in the different places of work. The white men lead in the hourly earnings compared to all other races and gender groups. White men are seen to earn more compared to other people or groups within the same job group. Asian and white women are seen to get more earnings compared to Hispanic and black women as well as men. This shows that racial discrimination has dominated the US since white and Asian women are paid more than black men. Discrimination has widened the gender wage gap and will not end any time soon since women and men will continue working differently. Women will still have responsibilities at home that will hinder them from working longer hours compared to men.
References
Blau, F. D., Gielen, A. C., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2012). Gender, inequality, and wages. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Farrell, W. (2004). Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap -- and What Women Can Do About It. New York: AMACOM.
Rosin, H. (2012). The end of men: And the rise of women. London: Viking.
Levitt, S. D., & Dubner, S. J. (2006). Freakonomics. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Boeri, T., Patacchini, E., & Peri, G. (2015). Unexplored Dimensions of Discrimination. Oxford: Oxford University press.
Karsten, M. F. (2006). Management, gender, and ethnicity in the United States. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Praeger.
