Brinton Beard
Ms. Maggert
English III Honors
20 December 2016
The Wage Gap Myth
Seventy seven cents to a man’s dollar is an often cited and well known statistic. President Obama campaigned on it in 2012 saying, “women being paid 77 cents on the dollar for doing the same work as men isn't just unfair- it hurts families.” Throughout most of human history women have been treated as a lower class. But in modern times, especially in the United States women have risen up to take their place of equality with men. Yet many still believe that they exist in a patriarchal society that oppresses women. These are the most liberated, independent, and free women in the history of the world and should take the opportunity to excel in life. Despite numerous …show more content…
In 2000, one-quarter of all women employees worked part-time, compared to less than 10 percent of men. Nearly 85 percent of those who worked part-time did so for non-economic reasons like to further their education or to spend more time with their family. “Women's wages hold up quite well to men's wages when comparing specific job categories. Among adults working between one and 34 hours a week, women's earnings are 115 percent of men's. Among part-time workers who have never married, and who thus confront fewer outside factors likely to affect earnings, women earn slightly more than men”(National Center for Policy Analysis, "The Wage Gap Myth", 2016). Workers whose outside factors are evaluated little to no gender bias. These statistics suggest that skill level, tenure and working hours, not gender, determine …show more content…
Many fields like nursing, teaching, and social work are dominated by women, which are typically lower paying jobs. “While women hold 53 percent of all professional jobs in the United States, they hold only 28 percent of jobs in professions averaging $40,000 or more in annual compensation”(National Center for Policy Analysis, "The Wage Gap Myth", 2016). For example, fewer women have chosen to enter such technical fields as computer sciences, math and science teaching, medicine, law and engineering. One could argue that those fields are low-paying because they’ve traditionally been occupied by women who were denied other career paths and were therefore devalued by society and in economic terms, but regardless, if we truly wanted to narrow the pay gap, women need to enter more lucrative
Ms. Maggert
English III Honors
20 December 2016
The Wage Gap Myth
Seventy seven cents to a man’s dollar is an often cited and well known statistic. President Obama campaigned on it in 2012 saying, “women being paid 77 cents on the dollar for doing the same work as men isn't just unfair- it hurts families.” Throughout most of human history women have been treated as a lower class. But in modern times, especially in the United States women have risen up to take their place of equality with men. Yet many still believe that they exist in a patriarchal society that oppresses women. These are the most liberated, independent, and free women in the history of the world and should take the opportunity to excel in life. Despite numerous …show more content…
In 2000, one-quarter of all women employees worked part-time, compared to less than 10 percent of men. Nearly 85 percent of those who worked part-time did so for non-economic reasons like to further their education or to spend more time with their family. “Women's wages hold up quite well to men's wages when comparing specific job categories. Among adults working between one and 34 hours a week, women's earnings are 115 percent of men's. Among part-time workers who have never married, and who thus confront fewer outside factors likely to affect earnings, women earn slightly more than men”(National Center for Policy Analysis, "The Wage Gap Myth", 2016). Workers whose outside factors are evaluated little to no gender bias. These statistics suggest that skill level, tenure and working hours, not gender, determine …show more content…
Many fields like nursing, teaching, and social work are dominated by women, which are typically lower paying jobs. “While women hold 53 percent of all professional jobs in the United States, they hold only 28 percent of jobs in professions averaging $40,000 or more in annual compensation”(National Center for Policy Analysis, "The Wage Gap Myth", 2016). For example, fewer women have chosen to enter such technical fields as computer sciences, math and science teaching, medicine, law and engineering. One could argue that those fields are low-paying because they’ve traditionally been occupied by women who were denied other career paths and were therefore devalued by society and in economic terms, but regardless, if we truly wanted to narrow the pay gap, women need to enter more lucrative