Discriminatory element of the gender pay gap
In society today, discrimination takes several forms and has many consequences. One of the observable outcomes is the reduction of the rewards for skill and efforts paid in the form of wages to distinct groups. This form of discrimination continues to affect women in the United States, as well as globally. “Women working full time in the U.S. are paid 82 cents to every dollar earned by men” (American Association of University Women, n.d.). The consequences of this wage gap affect women throughout their lives. The reduction of the gender pay gap is a major objective of pro-equal and anti-discrimination campaigns. Although the Equal Pay Act of 1963 addresses forms of pay discrimination, further legislation needs to be instituted to redress the issue comprehensively. Therefore, equal pay policies for all individuals should be mandatory for employers to enhance the development of a fair society.
Employers should develop policies that enhance pay transparency in the organization. According to Jimmy, the gender pay gap continues to widen due to the culture of secrecy encouraged within the enterprises. The development and institution of new non-discriminatory policies may promote a new culture of transparency. This approach will challenge employers to investigate the existing pay gap between men and women as well as taking stern actions to redress the issue. Organizations should adopt Buffer’s strategy in establishing and maintaining transparency within the working environment. The social network management platform continues to embrace transparency since 2013 by sharing pay details of every employee. This approach may help in eliminating bias in the salary brackets.
The new regulation should eliminate asking for salary history in the hiring process. Jimmy notes that employers request for candidate’s salary history in the recruitment process and rely on that information to decide on compensation. Subsequently, this move forces women to continue carrying lower earnings and experience pay discrimination from employer to employer. Most organizations use salary history to ascertain the recruit’s pay by providing a standard percentage of increment from the previous pay. Employers use the same information to screen job seekers whose previous salaries were too low or too high. Besides, companies incorporate salary history as part of negotiations and use cognitive bias to depress the resulting pay offer. The evaluation and comparison of job applicants through salary history plays a significant role in perpetuating the pay gap.
Several groups question the discriminatory element of the gender pay gap. According to Jimmy, most opponents of the argument highlight that women leave the workforce to have children. The voluntary leave taken leads the women out of the workforce resulting in less experience to their male counterparts. This argument is common and offensive as it implies home matters, including children, distract females from their jobs than males. Additionally, the stand assumes that men neglect their families to focus on work duties. In today’s society, both men and women switch their jobs more often where the females take less time off to give birth. Notably, most women rarely quit work to become stay-at-home moms as characterized by the older workforce. Thus, it is irrational to explain the wage gap through a small number of the female workforce who abandons their roles to become homemakers.
The Equal Pay Act 1963 entails basic labor standards that require employers to pay both women and men fair compensation in their jobs. The regulation addressed a widespread practice of discriminatory pay and laid the foundation of future employment policies. Further legislation may broaden opportunities for women by establishing procedures that enhance transparency and eliminate the need for salary history during recruitment. Therefore, new policies should encourage employers to pay their workers fair compensation regardless of gender differences.