In most cultures, since the beginning of written history, women have been the gatherers, homemakers, and caretakers. Women were seen as the givers of life and the key to a successful and honorable family. Due to their role in the home it was seen as unfit and improper for women to work and only in dire circumstances did they do so. However, during the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, a rise in women workers began. Women began to do jobs and make money in the same way as men did and in a patriarchal society it was evident that women were unequal, causing a large gap in pay between like positions due to gender. Today this is called “the gender wage gap”. The gender wage gap is “the relative difference in the average gross hourly
…show more content…
Author and statistic researcher Evelyn Murphy states, “because of the wage gap, a woman's everyday life is unnecessarily precarious, leaving her teetering just on the edge of disaster and sometimes plunging in - far more often than is true for the average working man” (Murphy). The Gender Wage gap continues to be an issue because of insufficient laws, racial discrimination, and stereotypes against women in the workplace. Steps have been taken to improve gender equality in the workforce through legislation, however, due to lack of support these laws have become insufficient and do little to protect women from gender inequality in the work force. In 1963, John F. Kennedy passed The Equal Pay Act, this specifies that there should be no discrimination based on gender, and that women and men should be paid the same for equal work that requires the same amount of skill and effort (EPA). Although the act was passed in 1963, it lacked the vigor necessary to help women progress in the work field. A year later, The Title VII Civil Rights Act was passed which prohibited discrimination in hiring, wages, religion, race, and nationality (AAUW). Even …show more content…
More than 30% of Americans still believe that women should stay home full time to care for children; this affects how much choice women feel that they actually have (Pearson). An insurance firm, Hartford Inc. Connecticut, was sued for saying that women with children are not good planners and cannot do either job well (Murphy). Unlike a father, who is seen as serious, hardworking, and reliable, these qualities make it so they can provide for their family, a mother is seen as someone who can respond to their child at any moment (Murphy). Women with children are seen as less attentive and less willing to work (Miller). According to statistics, “among full-time workers, a GAO study found that, for working fathers, each child increases earnings about 2.1%, while for working mothers, each child subtracts 2.5% from earnings” (Murphy). These statistics show that women are seen as less capable and are paid with this idea in mind. The stereotype that has developed around women's image drastically affects the way they are seen, responded to, and what opportunities they are provided. The statistics above illustrate in numerical terms just how tightly these stereotypes hold women to their past
Author and statistic researcher Evelyn Murphy states, “because of the wage gap, a woman's everyday life is unnecessarily precarious, leaving her teetering just on the edge of disaster and sometimes plunging in - far more often than is true for the average working man” (Murphy). The Gender Wage gap continues to be an issue because of insufficient laws, racial discrimination, and stereotypes against women in the workplace. Steps have been taken to improve gender equality in the workforce through legislation, however, due to lack of support these laws have become insufficient and do little to protect women from gender inequality in the work force. In 1963, John F. Kennedy passed The Equal Pay Act, this specifies that there should be no discrimination based on gender, and that women and men should be paid the same for equal work that requires the same amount of skill and effort (EPA). Although the act was passed in 1963, it lacked the vigor necessary to help women progress in the work field. A year later, The Title VII Civil Rights Act was passed which prohibited discrimination in hiring, wages, religion, race, and nationality (AAUW). Even …show more content…
More than 30% of Americans still believe that women should stay home full time to care for children; this affects how much choice women feel that they actually have (Pearson). An insurance firm, Hartford Inc. Connecticut, was sued for saying that women with children are not good planners and cannot do either job well (Murphy). Unlike a father, who is seen as serious, hardworking, and reliable, these qualities make it so they can provide for their family, a mother is seen as someone who can respond to their child at any moment (Murphy). Women with children are seen as less attentive and less willing to work (Miller). According to statistics, “among full-time workers, a GAO study found that, for working fathers, each child increases earnings about 2.1%, while for working mothers, each child subtracts 2.5% from earnings” (Murphy). These statistics show that women are seen as less capable and are paid with this idea in mind. The stereotype that has developed around women's image drastically affects the way they are seen, responded to, and what opportunities they are provided. The statistics above illustrate in numerical terms just how tightly these stereotypes hold women to their past