Equal Pay Critical Issues - Essay Example

Equal Pay

Equal pay is a notion applied to the labor rights. It advocates that individuals in the same place of work should receive equal pay. It targets the full treatment of payments as well as remunerations which comprises gratuities, basic income, stipends as well as non-salary disbursements. Some federations have progressed faster compared to others in addressing this issue (Leader 86). During the industrial revolution, Wage labor became dignified whereby womenfolk were paid less compared to the males for the same job because they were women or even due to other factors. Principals of equal pay for workers emerged at the same time with the first wave of feminism. The early attempts for equal pay were linked to the 19th-century trade union social action in the technologically advanced nations (Deborah 87).

It is clear that the issue of the gender gap is widely discussed in the society. According to President Obama, women earn about 75% for each dollar made by the men (Douglas 107). This implies that there exists a considerable gap and this gives the USA government the responsibility of offering equal pay and minimize gender gaps within the society. Nevertheless, women discrimination is still rampant despite the different laws in the United States protecting human rights. USA government ought to give a lot of attention to the issue regarding gender gaps in the society (Leader 88). From the recent survey, the majority of the male managers denies females promotions regardless of their capabilities for fears that family matters may distract them. This implies that females cannot handle competition as well as pressures in the workplace (Shamier 18). Based on my own experience, I do not think that the family issues to the extent of failing to deliver can distract women. Women have a way of balancing out their problems, and they end performing well.

Nevertheless, US president expressed interests of reducing the gender gap. He said that he was ready to execute relevant strategies that would encourage equal pay for all the citizens. He even included the equality sign in his campaign logo (Leader 90). Based on my research, I found that the USA government wants to increase women protection and this will be achieved through the adoption of new laws. For instance, the president required the Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness law. This is aimed at enriching a democratic constituency (Shamier 19). Pay disparities ought to be eliminated through effective laws. In a democratic society, there should be equal pay between men and women. Men and women ought to have same rights in social activities as well as at the workplace.

From research, wage discrimination is widespread. An individual may assume that in this era, women are treated equally as the menfolk on a social basis and economically. However, US females working through the year receive 78 cents per dollar earned by males (Judy 16). This implies that it is critical to keep on pushing for new regulations that will make workplaces 100% reasonable for the meticulous females (Leader 45). I believe that there is no justification as to why women should receive fewer payments than men for the same task should. The irony is that women make a higher percentage of the workforce and they finish their chores just like their male counterparts besides receiving the same or even higher education than men.

Women ought to receive equivalent remuneration for equal effort since they form a significant percentage of the workforce (Edgeworth 431). According to research, females account for close to 51.5 proportion of workforces in well-remunerating administration as well as specific qualifications. More than 65 million women are under employment contributing to 47 percent of the entire workforce (Shamier 15). Research reveals that 60 percent of women who have children under one year’s work either full time or even part time and still receive an average of 22 cents less compared to what the men earn (Douglas 97). In the current world, women are found in the administrative as well as technical support positions.

Research reveals than 73 percent of women have white-collar job (Leader 111). I believe the fact that more women are being hired because of their achievements should make their roles essential to receive equal pay (Judy 26). Research reveals that single mothers are a significant proportion of the labor force and their relatives depend only on single earnings. This makes me wonder how they are expected to support their children with the less pay that they receive. I believe that there is the need to have equal pay. Otherwise, it is possible for womenfolk to lag behind their challenging way of life particularly when their existence results in a steady working atmosphere.

Womenfolk ought to get equal remuneration for their effort since they perform similar tasks to the male counterparts. However, research still reveals that women continue to earn less wage despite their experience and accomplishment (Leader 80). For instance, Lisa Su in recent times became a chief executive of a CPU chip corporation, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. However, she makes a smaller amount than the former male chief executive does. The company defends itself by saying that she just got a promotion and was not new to the group; however, she is not the only woman who receive less pay than the males. For instance, chief executive Mary Barra was the pioneer female to become a chief executive of a universal car business. She, however, received a payment that had not even reached half of the former male CEO and less than what he used to make outside the company as an adviser (Shamier 18). Within this sector, Su Marissa Mayer was the woman chief executive of Yahoo and received less pay compared to executives who were under her despite performing similar tasks to their predecessors (Judy 12). These women received less payment indicating the injustice portrayed by the system. The worst part is that these companies have no legitimate reasons for doing this, but their acts are vested in gender discrimination. Individuals need to get aware of these daily issues instead of assuming them and waiting for them to change to equality possibly. The truth is that this may not change unless individuals push for Pay Fairness Law or even another Equivalent Pay Effort Act that will make the meticulous womenfolk receive what is rightfully theirs.

Womenfolk ought to receive the same remuneration for similar tasks since they get same training just like the male counterparts (Shamier 20). According to Wells Fargo research, the college-educated idealistic men receive approximately $20, 000 more on a yearly basis compared to women with similar training level. The average yearly revenue for idealistic menfolk was $ 83, 000 with females were making $63000 (Judy 16). I believe that the fact that women have the same education with men should make them receive equal pay. Research reveals an increase in women college enrolment by not less than 35% in 1976 to 1996, which was more than that of men (Douglas 77). Ever Since 1982, womenfolk have attained more bachelor’s gradations than men have as well as more master’s grade ever since 1981. In 2000, more women enrolled in law school with the percentage of women to men in medical colleges raising to 45.7% in 2001 from 5.8% in 1960 (Leader 75). This implies that women are continuing to excel education wise and this ought to correlate with their capability of handling a job. Women have skills of managing a job, and this means that they should be paid equal amounts to men with whom they have the same level of intelligence.

My standpoint is that womenfolk should be given the right to identical remuneration since their performance in the university reveals their capability of working and understanding economic situations (Deborah 87). Nevertheless, the majority have shown that as much as they support equal pay for men and women, it can result in civil lawsuits. Additionally, people argue that the paycheck fairness is not essential since gender discrimination is illegal. However, it is clear from statistics that women discrimination is rampant at the workplace and women do not receive same wages as their male counterparts (Leader 60). I find it incomprehensible and unfair in that an individual can contemplate denying a woman equal remuneration for a similar job with a man. It is not fair to have a situation where both men and women are doing the same job, have the same level of education and yet receive different wages. It is very ridiculous. Equivalent remuneration for the equal effort is the philosophy of the employment human rights and gives room for everybody to receive similar treatment (Shamier 16). 2000 years back, Plato claimed that if womenfolk are mandated to achieve like men, then there is an obligation to train them like men. I believe that since they now receive the same education and engages with similar tasks as men, they should then be paid the same wage as the male counterparts. Individuals ought to be tolerant of the gender discrimination tragedy (Leader 90). The workforce specifically the women ought to push for their rights so that they can be treated equally in the workplace. Otherwise, there will never exist right balance of powers.

Statistics from the New York Times article in 2012 revealed that women earn only 77 cents for each dollar made by a man (Deborah 87). What I believe is that women pay should be equal to that of men. Many arguments have been put along regarding why womenfolk are compensated less compared to males. Individuals give a good reason for remunerating more to men than to womenfolk by various techniques. Nevertheless, there have been limited attempts to challenge the pay inequalities between men and women (Douglas 89). One of the common reason provided for the pay inequality is the motherhood penalty and acts as the primary reason for wage difference (Leader 98). When one becomes a mother, this means that she will require a lot of off time. According to the recent New York article, policies were formulated to help in reducing women pay deficits through improving flexibility at the places of work and hence relieving the woman the family burden. This implies that women may end up taking less pay to have flexible schedules. Such a program is critical for a mother with children (Shamier 18). Sickness, engagement in activities as well as the yearning for emotional support can make a parent miss work and hence the importance of a flexible working environment.

Pay equality is also influenced by how the media portrays women. The majority of us cannot associate the media with women paycheck. However, I believe the press is a big player that people assume. According to Sourcebook for Teaching Sciences, Nielsen said that for a person who has lived for 65 years, nine years are spent on watching television (Leader 98). According to the Time Magazine article, the more exposed to the television children are, the more they accept occupational gender stereotypes. I believe that this can have effects on the way females interpret themselves in the years to come. For instance, consider Bella, the key personality in Twilight who was described as feeble and reliant on her fiancé to protect her from hazards. I tend to believe that how media portrays women could be one of the factors as to why they tend to shy away from well-paying jobs (Judy 17).

However, the pay gap could also be caused by choice. The study done by American Association University reveals that women account for only 18 percent of engineering courses and 79% of educational classes. As far, I can remember, I did not have a male teacher until I reached middle school. The majority of the women fears dangerous jobs that are associated with high pays. Such choices are the ones affecting the statistics concerning pay inequality (Leader 89). However, I believe this is changing considerably since young girls are being motivated to take careers in customarily well-paying fields. For instance, in the 2012-year presidential elections, the two candidates were focusing on the subject of females’ remuneration equality. These dual movements offered different opinions concerning the issue, coming to a consensus that they wanted women votes (Judy 3). However, Mitt Romney looked defensive when addressing the issue. He once accidentally said that he had resources to facilitate the hiring of countless women.

For instance, the former president, Barrack Obama, said that he has two daughters and does not wish to see them being paid less than the males for the same job (Leader 78). His actions during his term are a proof of his statements. For instance, he supported the Lilly Ledbetter act, which was an act of closing the gap between men and women payment (Douglas 87). Lilly Ledbetter act is among the recent techniques aimed at closing the difference between the males and the females. Nevertheless, there have been several attempts to minimize the gap in the past years with the first attempt being in 1963 of the equal pay act (Judy 21). This law requires men and women to receive fair wages for work done at the same level. After this bill, there was the creation of the employment agency aimed at enforcing federal laws making discrimination against an employee or even a job applicant illegal. However, all of this acts have helped in closing the gap; but still, there is no permanent solution for this issue.

In my study on similar pay topic, I have discovered many things. First, I could not imagine that media could affect pay equality. However, have now known that there are different opinions on the wage gap and it has dawned on me why pay equality has been a reality for an extended period. Nevertheless, there is still some hope for more justice as the USA continues to look for the solution to this issue. I hope the answer will be found before I start job fishing.