progress made on how women are perceived in society
A lot of progress is made on how women are perceived in society. Historical injustices are being corrected, and women have opportunities but not like men. At this age of time, women can vote, can be in any career, and they can defend their human rights. But despite all these progress, women are still discriminated against at their workplaces. Wage problem has continued to be an issue, and women have been denied equal pay to equal work done. This has become very common in almost every organization in America.
Women have joined different working environments and attained the educational requirement needed. But a lot of discrimination in their wages has still been recorded. On average, a woman earns 79 cents for every dollar a man is paid (Hegewish & DuMonthier, 2016).
The gender wage gap is caused by discrimination of sex and race. Studies have shown that women are overlooked when it comes to hiring, an increase in pay, and even promotion in most workplaces.
The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women should receive the same pay for the same amount of work done. Since its implementation in 1963, discrimination against women has decreased but not eliminated.
For instance, if a law firm has two junior employees with the same amount of work and education, the male employee is likely earing more. It is expected that he will get a promotion before his female counterpart.
For these reasons, women have to work harder than men, and for a woman to earn equal pay to men, they have to work an extra 44 days. But why are women discriminated against in the places of work?
Motherhood is the most significant contributor to low wages for women. They often leave the workplace early and take more leaves than men to attend their parental responsibilities. Education and location demographics also affect the wage gap in many workplaces. After college, most women settle for fewer jobs because they want to start families, and they fell like most of the ambiguous posts are designed to fit men more than them.
Some argue that the reason why the wage gap is created is that some women take time off from work to take care of their children. Many employers do not support flexible working hours and prefer long and continuous working. So for these avoidable circumstances, women are unable to cope with the market demand and end up falling on the losing side.
However, the real issues are not the above circumstances. Women have been discriminated against since the existence of humankind. This kind of discrimination makes women feel like they are less worthy as compared to men. They need to know that their work is treated and appreciated equally as that of their male counterparts.
To end the wage gap, we must have equal pay in our institutions. The Equal Pay Act must be strengthened for women to be able to fight against any wage discrimination.
The barrier between men and women should be removed, and women should be empowered. Those women who are receiving low wages should have an increase In their salaries to match their male colleagues.
All employers should also provide for an ethical framework with paid leaves and flexible hours so as not to discriminate against the working mothers. Public opinion should also be given a chance while considering all the possible outcomes of equal wage pay. Discrimination against women’s wages is wrong and should end.