Gender and Unequal Pay
Regardless of a woman’s education, experience, or length of time on the job, a glass ceiling exists, preventing her from receiving equal pay for equal work. During the current United States presidential race, equal pay for equal work has reemerged as a hot topic, which Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party are using to attract voters, male and female alike. Even though women have made great strides in the workplace, pay inequality persists in today’s society. If women have comparable education, qualifications, and experiences to their male counterparts, they should receive equal pay for doing the same job or performing the same service. Currently, they do not, and reasons for this include gender role orientation, …show more content…
While this had empirical support in the past, current college enrollment and graduation statistics refute the claim that men are more educated and thus better-qualified employees than their female counterparts. Women are attending college in greater numbers than in previous generations. Reese stated in the article, Pay Equity in the States (2007) “Today, more women graduate from college than men, but the gender–wage gap is present within one year of graduation” (p.313). Reese (2007) then reported, "A woman graduating from college today will earn an average of U.S. $700,000 less over her lifetime than a man graduating at the same time; that amount increases to US$1.2million in pay difference over a lifetime for a woman earning a Master of Business Administration degree” (p.313). Reese attributes this vast difference in lifetime earnings to the likelihood women take time off for childbirth, child rearing, and not working weekends; all of this adds up to more time working which increases the pay difference. In Mandel, & Semyonov, 2014 article Gender Pay Gap and Employment Sector, states “In fact, since the 1980s, the gender gap in college enrollment in the United States has been reversed, in favor of women, because of an increase in women’s educational attainment coupled with a slowdown in men’s attainment of professional degrees” (p.1601). The evidence demonstrates that educational level should no longer be considered a valid reason for the salary inequality between
Regardless of a woman’s education, experience, or length of time on the job, a glass ceiling exists, preventing her from receiving equal pay for equal work. During the current United States presidential race, equal pay for equal work has reemerged as a hot topic, which Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party are using to attract voters, male and female alike. Even though women have made great strides in the workplace, pay inequality persists in today’s society. If women have comparable education, qualifications, and experiences to their male counterparts, they should receive equal pay for doing the same job or performing the same service. Currently, they do not, and reasons for this include gender role orientation, …show more content…
While this had empirical support in the past, current college enrollment and graduation statistics refute the claim that men are more educated and thus better-qualified employees than their female counterparts. Women are attending college in greater numbers than in previous generations. Reese stated in the article, Pay Equity in the States (2007) “Today, more women graduate from college than men, but the gender–wage gap is present within one year of graduation” (p.313). Reese (2007) then reported, "A woman graduating from college today will earn an average of U.S. $700,000 less over her lifetime than a man graduating at the same time; that amount increases to US$1.2million in pay difference over a lifetime for a woman earning a Master of Business Administration degree” (p.313). Reese attributes this vast difference in lifetime earnings to the likelihood women take time off for childbirth, child rearing, and not working weekends; all of this adds up to more time working which increases the pay difference. In Mandel, & Semyonov, 2014 article Gender Pay Gap and Employment Sector, states “In fact, since the 1980s, the gender gap in college enrollment in the United States has been reversed, in favor of women, because of an increase in women’s educational attainment coupled with a slowdown in men’s attainment of professional degrees” (p.1601). The evidence demonstrates that educational level should no longer be considered a valid reason for the salary inequality between