Women have historically been paid far less than men in the United States. This is still persistent despite the enactment of the NLRA, the FLSA, the Equal Pay Act of 1964 and passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These acts were created to eliminate all workplace discrimination. Roosevelt’s New Deal guaranteed workers a minimum wage and a 40-hour workweek. It was enforced by “the requirement of overtime pay for extra hours worked” (Fredrickson, 20).
Women’s wages have gone up but only because there has been a fall in men’s wages, yet the last ten years, women’s wages have not actually increased. Most of the child-care givers, hairdressers, cashiers, home health care aids are women who “make up 53 percent of the low-wage workforce.” (Fredrickson, 11). The wage gap remains at 77%, mostly due to discrimination. Many women work in fields already dominated by …show more content…
The reason this is so important is because the wages earned with lower-paying jobs become the “benchmark” for future wages. This, in effect, would continue to keep women’s wages stagnant. Full-time women are making “$1,086 per week for 'registered nurses' to $368 per week for 'cashiers” while men, on the other hand, “range from $2,275 for 'chief executives' to $403 for 'cooks’” (Hegewisch and Matite).
Not only are women being paid lower wages than men for doing the same work, they are also being paid less because of the type of jobs they have. Many women work in occupations in which there are very few men. Some of these occupations include: secretaries, administrative assistants, elementary and middle school teachers and registered nurses. On the other hand, the most common occupations for men tend to hire very few women. These types of jobs are “non-traditional” such as: mechanics, carpenters, construction workers,
Women’s wages have gone up but only because there has been a fall in men’s wages, yet the last ten years, women’s wages have not actually increased. Most of the child-care givers, hairdressers, cashiers, home health care aids are women who “make up 53 percent of the low-wage workforce.” (Fredrickson, 11). The wage gap remains at 77%, mostly due to discrimination. Many women work in fields already dominated by …show more content…
The reason this is so important is because the wages earned with lower-paying jobs become the “benchmark” for future wages. This, in effect, would continue to keep women’s wages stagnant. Full-time women are making “$1,086 per week for 'registered nurses' to $368 per week for 'cashiers” while men, on the other hand, “range from $2,275 for 'chief executives' to $403 for 'cooks’” (Hegewisch and Matite).
Not only are women being paid lower wages than men for doing the same work, they are also being paid less because of the type of jobs they have. Many women work in occupations in which there are very few men. Some of these occupations include: secretaries, administrative assistants, elementary and middle school teachers and registered nurses. On the other hand, the most common occupations for men tend to hire very few women. These types of jobs are “non-traditional” such as: mechanics, carpenters, construction workers,