Gender pay inequality
Introduction
Gender pay inequality is the measure of what women are paid relative to men. Most of the time, it is measured by dividing the men’s pay and women’s pay. The ratio of the results is then put as a percentage or in monetary terms. This calculation shows us how much women are paid for each dollar paid to men. The gender pay inequality has continued to hurt and affect women throughout their lives. Women have come a long way from just being able to do specific jobs. In the past, women’s roles were to stay home, care, and nurture their children without going out to work. Nowadays, women can do the same jobs as men (Mandel, 2019). They can also balance work and home duties. Statistics show that for many years, women had no place to work. Although most of them are equally educated and trained for the same job as men, they end up being underpaid. Over the past few years, several laws have been passed to help women gain more rights in terms of payment. Back in 1964, public law was passed by the congress that forbids discrimination based on either sex or race when hiring, promoting, or firing.
Background- Statistics
The current statistics show that women have increased in the workforce. Some of them have become entrepreneurs, business owners, and educators, among many other careers. Women are starting to show that they can still be professional while at the same time taking care of their families. Most women in the job market are the breadwinners of their families, while some men are taking over the role of staying at home. Interpretation of gender pay inequality has become a tough concept to understand. Women are almost half of the workforce. However, they continue to earn less than men (Owen & Temesvary, 2018). By the end of the year 2018, research was showing that full-time working females were receiving only 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. This brought a gender pay gap of 18%. Analyzation that was done for women versus men’s earnings also showed that women only receive half of what men make. The primary thing that brings this pay inequality is outright discrimination. Besides, recent data published on March 31, 2020, by PayScale.com show that the difference between men’s and women’s earnings has shrunk, with only an incremental amount each year (Gender Pay Gap Statistics for 2020). It remains that women are still paid less than men. The gap increases for women of color, and there is discrimination based on executive roles, type of occupation, and industry. Research shows that since 2015 the pay gap has only reduced by $0.07. In the year 2020, women are only making $0.82 for every dollar that men make.
Who is impacted?
Gender pay inequality has affected the entire lives of women. Although we have many women with higher education, there is no equality in most jobs. In the United States, women are holding almost two-thirds of the outstanding student’s debt. Because their payment is still low, they have a harder time when paying those loans. It does not just stop there; it follows them into retirement. Since women receive insufficient earnings in their lifetime, they end up getting less in social security and pensions. When we compare men and women in terms of retirement income, women have seventy percent of what men save. The gender pay gap also affects company performance, culture, and bottom-line (Vahter & Masso, 2018). If some employees feel that they are not being paid fairly, they will not be motivated to produce quality work. Low and poor payments also lead to a lack of employee satisfaction. Therefore, the company’s retention rates and reputation might go low.
Why is it essential to be able to address the problems associated with gender pay inequality from a sociological perspective?
Sociologists have been able to document the relationship between gender, career, and outcomes. The issues of gender pay inequality should be addressed because it has now become a social problem (Galbraith et al., 2019). Some people do not know if this issue is affecting them as a whole. Social problems are said to weaken society’s stability. These issues arise from the faults of the community members, and therefore it is essential to reinforce gender pay inequalities.
It is essential to understand that they are equal in the job market and, therefore, should be given equal treatment. Addressing this issue will enlighten the society to understand the importance of entitling women the same pay for a similar job because they have the same access to education (Galbraith et al., 2019). When society underuses women labor due to discrimination, it prevents them from achieving their career goals and hence do not contribute to the growth of the economy.
Theoretical Analysis
There are major sociological frameworks that have different views and theories regarding gender inequality and their relationship to other aspects of society. Functional theorists argue on the division of labor that is gender-based and shows its importance in building community. It is imperative to address social issues that affect women from women’s perspectives so that an understanding can be drawn from their standpoint. The feminist theory is one of the theories that show how world view and our everyday behavior increase the gap of gender inequality. It focuses oh how some forces can be changed to build an equal society.
Feminist theory
This is a general theory that talks about social life and the development of human experience from a woman-centered perspective. It describes and evaluates the world from a woman’s point of view and experiences of women in society. History shows that women are gaining power in the community and are trying to make several improvements that will end gender inequality. Therefore, from this theory’s point of view, women are supposed to have equal rights with men because men are not born with an exceptional ability to make them better. Due to this, the payment should also be the same (Galbraith et al., 2019). Both men and women have the same capability to make society succeed. It is the society that brings the lesser treatment of women due to stereotypes and gender bias that has been there for histories. The traditional roles of women can sometimes affect the way women’s capabilities are perceived hence limiting their potential and efficiency. Feminism is doing a significant role in improving the well-being of women in society. The feminism movement started in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The campaign has been seeking equal pay and employment opportunities, among others.
Research
Gender pay inequality gap in 2020
The research was done to show that in the year 2020, women are earning 0.81 cents per each dollar earned by men. This is happening in a circumstance where women possess the same employment qualifications and do the same job as men. This means that for those women doing the same job with men, they end up being paid a lesser amount. Some pay gap cannot be controlled. For instance, women must take breaks for maternity leaves during their career life. Those who find themselves having overwhelming home responsibilities, they end seeking for jobs that are paying low but give them a flexible schedule a balanced work and home obligations. As women progress with their careers, the pay gap is progressively increasing.
Future gender pays inequality projections.
The world Economic Forum has predicted the gender pay gap to continue for the next two hundred and two years before it closes. This is because the rate at which its closing is too slow. Research shows that due to pay inequality, the number of women is reducing since most of them have decided to adopt self-employment jobs. There is no single country where women are paid more than men. I most organizations, women still face a lot of obstacles in undertaking senior managerial roles. Women are also behind in terms of politics, therefore, slowing the pace of change (Nanu, 2019).
Consequently, it means that the world still has a long way to go. Also, women are still avoiding some professionals like engineering and IT. Therefore, women still need to be equipped to be able to take advantage of opportunities that come with a change in technology. This will help in facilitating the closure of the gender pay inequality gap.
Conclusion
It is evident that gender pay pap only decreases for some time, but they ever disappear. Although we find that in most circumstances, women are much educated, they still land in low paying jobs. Women have decided to further their education and do more than just a degree. The attainments of women in society are increasing each day, and therefore there is a need for social justice. Awareness of the importance of gender pay equality should be created in the community. Some institutions are supporting gender pay equality through an equal share of employment opportunities. They do a campaign that enlightens the society to embrace equal payment practices. This will make everyone recognize women’s contribution to the economy of a society and advocate the need for equality. Although there are several changes that are ben witnessed in the labor market improvement in terms of equality, women are still struggling to obtain equal payment.
Society needs to come together to analyze some of the factors that contribute to discrimination in payment and come up with solutions to end the problem. Organizations should also follow laws and regulations concerning the payment of employees and their rights to ensure equity. Above all, it is essential to empower women on ways to negotiate their pay whenever they are seeking employment. It is a very critical aspect that every woman should embrace. Al women in the world who aspire to be employed need to be aware of their rights and should be given the opportunity to do payment negotiations. Women need to be rewarded well for the work done and receive the same benefits as men so that we can all build the society together.
References
Gender Pay Gap Statistics for 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2020, from https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap
Mandel, H. (2019). Gender inequality: occupational devaluation and pay gaps. Research
Outreach, (106), 66-69. https://doi.org/10.32907/ro-106-6669
Nanu, Z. (2019). Pay, Gender, and Pensions: High Time to Retire the Gender Pay Gap. AARP
International: The Journal, 12, 24. https://doi.org/10.26419/int.00036.006
Owen, A., & Temesvary, J. (2018). CEO Compensation, Pay Inequality, and the Gender
Diversity of Bank Board of Directors. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3184572
Vahter, P., & Masso, J. (2018). The Contribution of Multinationals to Wage Inequality:
Foreign Ownership and the Gender Pay Gap. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3096907