Gender Pay Gap Analysis

Unequal Pay for Equal Work: Demystifying the Gender Pay Gap Joanna Williams once said, “Where would we be without the gender pay gap? With girls outperforming boys at school, outnumbering male students at university, and women experiencing no more practical hindrances than men to achieving anything they want in life, feminists have been forced to shift their attention to the more nebulous cultural sphere in order to prove that women remain victims of a patriarchal conspiracy.” Unfortunately, the statistics stating that women earn only 77 cents to every man’s dollar is nothing but a myth, and it is not accurate in every situation between men and women in the workplace. Three major factors contribute to the pay gap between men and women, and it has nothing to do with gender discrimination. After one considers experience, hours worked, and the type of job that women choose, the pay gap is not only equivalent but understandable (Duke, 2014). …show more content…
Women earn less than men considering they work fewer hours a week, and men are twice as likely to work 40 or more hours a week, while women only work between 35-39 hours a week (Holland, 2014). If one considers the fact that women work less, the pay gap does decrease and women who worked a 40 hour week would earn 88 percent of male earnings (Duke, 2014). Another contributing factor to women working less is motherhood. Many women choose to take time off after having a baby; therefore, those women take themselves out of the workplace and sacrifice time at work, pay, and/or promotions (Labaton, 2014). Although this may seem as if women are punished due to having children, this is ultimately a