Richard A. Epstein’s article “The problem with ‘Equal Pay’: a competitive labor market will make short work of pay gaps” was the first article that I chose. I found this article on the Opposing Viewpoints in Context database. I chose to discuss this article first because it connects to my question the strongest and makes a lot of excellent points on the gender pay gap. The author talks a lot about how the gender pay gap is mistaken for being because of discrimination against women. Epstein also gives many reasons of the pay gap that are not due to discrimination. In “The problem with ‘Equal pay’: a competitive labor market will make short work of pay gaps” Epstein points out,
A far better explanation is that these statistical studies cannot …show more content…
This article was also found on the Opposing Viewpoints in Context database. I chose to do this article next because it for the most part goes along the same lines as the article I just talked about, while my third article for the most part counters these two. Andrew Biggs’ article is mainly about how the pay gap would be more accurate if information like education and experience were taken as part of the data that was put into the pay gap. It also makes a lot of points on why the gender pay gap is not solely based on discrimination, much like the first article I went over talked about. I feel like this article makes a lot of very good points and clearly points out some obvious reasons as to why the gender pay gap isn’t only based on discrimination. He even points out that, “Among never-married individuals without children, for example, the pay gap is actually negative—in this group, women earn more than men, because they have better educational qualifications” (Biggs). Later in the article, Biggs goes on to talk about how women that are married and have children are more likely to pick jobs with better benefits than jobs with better pay. This makes it seem like the pay gap is bigger, but in reality, if the benefits are added in with all the other factors that are not added in, the pay gap practically disappears …show more content…
I chose this one last because it counters the articles previous to it and brings in a different view. This article is mainly about bringing awareness to the true reasons of the gender pay gap and how gender stereotypes affect the pay gap. In the article, Lips mentions that “Gender-specific specialization was associated with strong gender-specific socialization and occupational segregation. While females were taught to behave in a cooperative, selfless, and nurturing way, males were taught to behave in a competitive and selfish way” (Lips 936). With this said, it is obvious why men are more likely to ask for a higher pay, while women are less likely to because they feel uncomfortable with it. This is due to how men and women grew up with stereotypes. Women are supposed to feel okay with making less than men because of this problem. The article then goes on to talk about how women believe that they should make less than a man. They even paid themselves less than men did in a survey (Lips 937). These things are again due to how each gender grew up. When children are growing up I feel like they are immediately taught how to act depending on their gender. Girls are supposed to have good manners while boys aren’t really taught as much to be
A far better explanation is that these statistical studies cannot …show more content…
This article was also found on the Opposing Viewpoints in Context database. I chose to do this article next because it for the most part goes along the same lines as the article I just talked about, while my third article for the most part counters these two. Andrew Biggs’ article is mainly about how the pay gap would be more accurate if information like education and experience were taken as part of the data that was put into the pay gap. It also makes a lot of points on why the gender pay gap is not solely based on discrimination, much like the first article I went over talked about. I feel like this article makes a lot of very good points and clearly points out some obvious reasons as to why the gender pay gap isn’t only based on discrimination. He even points out that, “Among never-married individuals without children, for example, the pay gap is actually negative—in this group, women earn more than men, because they have better educational qualifications” (Biggs). Later in the article, Biggs goes on to talk about how women that are married and have children are more likely to pick jobs with better benefits than jobs with better pay. This makes it seem like the pay gap is bigger, but in reality, if the benefits are added in with all the other factors that are not added in, the pay gap practically disappears …show more content…
I chose this one last because it counters the articles previous to it and brings in a different view. This article is mainly about bringing awareness to the true reasons of the gender pay gap and how gender stereotypes affect the pay gap. In the article, Lips mentions that “Gender-specific specialization was associated with strong gender-specific socialization and occupational segregation. While females were taught to behave in a cooperative, selfless, and nurturing way, males were taught to behave in a competitive and selfish way” (Lips 936). With this said, it is obvious why men are more likely to ask for a higher pay, while women are less likely to because they feel uncomfortable with it. This is due to how men and women grew up with stereotypes. Women are supposed to feel okay with making less than men because of this problem. The article then goes on to talk about how women believe that they should make less than a man. They even paid themselves less than men did in a survey (Lips 937). These things are again due to how each gender grew up. When children are growing up I feel like they are immediately taught how to act depending on their gender. Girls are supposed to have good manners while boys aren’t really taught as much to be