Do Women still get paid less than Men in the work force?
Women have been struggling for years to have the same rights as men and we still see this today in the workforce. Although we dont see as much of this today as we did many years ago Women still struggle to get paid what they deserve when it compares to me. Women can have the same amount of education but tend to get paid less then Men. In a study done by CarreerBuilder it shows that women only dominate in 4 positions of the top 15 jobs wordwide. (2013, Apr 25)
Women tend to not ask for as much pay and men do. (1998, Jun 03) Women sell themselves short and do not ask for fair pay when men are more likely to fight to receive the pay they feel they deserve and have worked hard for. The experiment that Donkin did shows that women are to blame because they dont negotitate higher pay when they deserve to be paid more. If women would just fight harder for higher pay then they would be close to what men make but maybe still not exactly paid the same for the same amount of experience and education.
Another study shows that was posted in the National Post by Roberts (2001, Mar 13) that women work harder and longer hours then men. Women put their hours in at work and then they also work doing cleaning, laundry, and caregiver. Even though technically women working at home doesnt not matter to the pay they receive it does matter when they are fatigued at work and miss work due to illness. When a person is overworked then tend to not perform to their top ability and this can effect how women are preceived compared to men in the workforce. Also women take time off to have children and this will effect their time on the job when companies are looking at experience.
Although times are changing it is still hard for women in the workforce. Laws have been put into place so women are not discriminated against when applying for a position. (2011) In the textbook by Dias its explained that invisible privilege is when someone has a privilege that they dont even know they have just because they are one race, or sex. Men have an invisible privilege when applying for a position over a women just because companies look at the person. In a company when they are doing interviews they need to be careful when asking question to a male and female. It is considered discrimination to ask a women if she is married or plans to have children. Companies think ahead and know that if a women is not married or hasnt had children yet that she could be taking time off from work to persue family. Although this cannot be used against her, many times companies will just hire the man with the same experience and education to avoid training someone who will be off work and need to be replaced during this time.
Another thought on why women earn less then men is simply because they are women. An article in Monthly Labor review done by L. H. Leith (2014) In the past men have been more educated, trained and have more work experience then women. Now that times have changed and women are also working a lot, we see that this gap has changed and women are not just looked at as women. They are looked at close to if not even to men. The article points out a good fact that more than half of the medical students now are women. So with women getting higher education and also just attending college or more than just the medical field it is proving that women can get an education and also be mothers and wives.
With women making less than men it makes it harder for them to save for retirement. Women fare poorly when compared to men when saving for retirement because its harder with less pay. Also if women are single raising a family it makes it harder to have money taken out of their checks for things they need now to raise their family. (2002, June 10) The gap in pay not only isnt fair since women are just as educated and experienced as men but it also is effecting their retirement plans.
As times have changed, Men and Women have come very close to being equal in the workforce compared to years past. Women are a strong part of the work force and continue to rise to the top. This is a huge step and continues to improve with time. Soon Women and Men with be very close to getting the same pay and respect in the workforce. Time will prove that they are both good candidates for the positions that are top of the line. Although we havent had a female President of the United States yet, I think that soon we will see more Women taking a stance and fighting to get into that position.
References
CareerBuilder and EMSI study shows women earn nearly $24,000 less than men on average. (2013, Apr 25). PR Newswire Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1345408183?accountid=28644
Donkin, R. (1998, Jun 03). The low pay syndrome: Women might be to blame for the fact that they are paid less than men. Financial Times Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/248618226?accountid=28644
Roberts, S. (2001, Mar 13). Women still work longer than men for less income: Improved since 1986: 'we've come some way, but we still have a way to go'. National Post Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/329774117?accountid=28644
Leith, L. H. (2014). Why do women still earn less than men? Monthly Labor Review, 2-1G, 2G. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1547312861?accountid=28644
Forman, J. (2002, Jun 10). Report outlines gender gap in retirement money. Journal Record Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/259453973?accountid=28644
Dias, L. (2011). Human Resource Management. Saylor.org/books. Chapter 3. Diversity and Multiculturalism
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