A Government Awareness Program of Wage Disparity and Its Impacts - Assignment Example

Section/# Gender Wage Disparity: A Discussion of How the Government Can Seek to Reduce It Introduction: The last few decades have noted a rapid change in the overall number of women in the workforce. The prior level of industrialization and the demands that the World Wars had placed upon society created a situation in which women were not only encouraged but required to integrate with the workforce. However, despite these rapid changes to the way in which society has been ordered, core disparities continue to be evidenced in the way in which men and women are represented within the workplace. As a function of this reality, the following discussion will be concentric upon the following: the differentials in pay that exist between men and women in the workplace and a discussion of two of the more salient means by which this differential can be reduced. Further, the discussion will be concentric upon the overall costs that these two approaches could entail. This will be engaged alongside an analysis of the level of societal acceptance that they could foreseeably engender as well. A Government Awareness Program of Wage Disparity and Its Impacts: One of the first things that can be done to assist the overall gaps in pay that exist between men and women is with respect to attempting to effect a societal understanding of occupational segregation. Ultimately, regardless of the degree or extent to which feminism has pervaded current society within the Western world, people still are of the opinion that certain jobs are for men and other jobs are for women (Sorensen, 1989). For instance, the nursing profession is still profession that is dominated almost entirely by females. One of the reasons behind this has to do with the fact that the societal interpretation of nursing is one that necessarily promotes this is a profession that is most naturally suited to women. However, as can be obviously seen, this profession is equally suited to men. As a means of correcting this, it will be necessary for the government to sponsor awareness campaigns in the same way that they sponsor awareness campaigns with regards to domestic violence, drug abuse, or other societal issues that are deemed as important enough to warrant the level of government intervention. Cost: The overall cost of such an approach is necessarily high. As the government will need to be responsible for promoting, marketing, and engagement with the population in an attempt to shift the level of acceptance and expectation that exists within society, it is expected that this campaign will require a relatively high level of funding (Zurlu, 2012). Whereas it is true that this funding will not immediately be provided all in one verse, another reason for expecting that a level of money that would be required for such a campaign would be high has to do with the fact that societal expectation and/or norms are usually entrenched and take a great deal of time as a function of shifting. Societal Acceptance: Similarly, as can be inferred from the discussion, it is likely that a great deal of societal “pushback” will be evidenced in attempting to change the way in which people view certain careers and/or certain perceptions. Whereas it is true that political correctness and other norms have been able to be engaged with past populations, the degree and extent to which they take place and/or the level of resentment that exists within society as these norms are promoted can sometimes be extraordinarily high. Government Sponsored Childcare Programs: Another way in which the government to seek to end their level of wage disparity that exists between men and women is by creating a nationwide program that could assist both men and women with their child care needs. And in arguable fact is that women are largely expected to serve the role as family caretaker within the expectations of many individuals throughout society. Whereas this is a rather chauvinistic and/4 limited viewpoint with respect to the role of women, it is nonetheless a reality faced. Further, as women are expected to be the caretakers of young children, is oftentimes a woman that must leave work early, come to work late, take off work in the middle of the day as a means of addressing the healthcare or educational needs that their child may have. As this is not as common within male workers, they invariably are viewed as a more valuable and hard-working asset for the firm or entity in question (Black et al., 2013). Once again, this is an unfair categorization that is brought about not due to the fact that women are inherently less worthy of equal salary; but due to the fact that women fulfill the role of caretaker and provider simultaneously. Yet, if there was a federally funded program that assisted with child care needs, this would greatly reduce the level and extent to which women would need to take time off as a means of addressing these concerns while at work. Naturally, as can be seen, this only addresses a partial component of the issue at hand. Due to the fact that society still continues to you world in an overly chauvinistic manner, one that expects women to take care of all aspects pertaining to the child welfare, the promotion of government-funded programs only addresses the symptoms of the broader problem. However, at the current juncture, this is a possible solution to the situation. Cost: From an issue of cost, this is by far the most expensive of the options that have thus far been discussed. An increase in the tax base or the subsequent increase in the overall tax revenue would be required in order for society to fill this need without creating a new tranche of deficit spending. However, some of this overall cost could necessarily be recouped by the potential for women to earn more money, contribute a larger percentage to tax revenues, and thereby reduce the overall strain on society that such a program could ultimately affect. Societal Acceptance: In terms of overall societal acceptance, it must be noted that such a program would largely be viewed with suspicion. Although certain women would necessarily avail themselves of this opportunity, others would feel as if the government was overreaching its authority and/or forcing a level of early childhood care on children and/or mothers that neither wanted nor needed it (Chalikia, 2008). Whereas this may or may not be the case, the expectation is that more conservative individuals within society would necessarily find fault with this approach and seeks to end the funding of the program prior to it even beginning. Conclusion: From the information that is thus far been engaged, it is clear and apparent that the issues pertaining to the salary differentials between male and female are profound and deeply embedded in the conscious and society that we currently live. Whereas it might be nice to assume that there are simple and quick fixes that could immediately create a situation in which women were earning the same level of salary for the same work that they performed, the reality of the fact is that society has deeply paternalistic and chauvinistic interpretations of the role of women and the way in which children should be cared for. As long as society understands that a woman’s core role is to provide nurture for her family, it is unlikely that the situation will experience a drastic change. However, if society, and by extension the government, is committed to promoting a more fair and just world, the changes that had been specified within this brief analysis could most certainly create a more equitable society; and one in which women were remunerated to an equivalent degree as compared to men. Bibliography Black, D, Haviland, A, Sanders, S, & Taylor, L 2008, Gender Wage Disparities among the Highly Educated, Journal Of Human Resources, 43, 3, pp. 630-659, ERIC, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 March 2014. Chalikia, MB 2013, Sex-Based Salary Disparity and the Uses of Multiple Regression for Definition and Remediation, Current Psychology, 32, 4, p. 374, MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 March 2014. Sorensen, E 1989, MEASURING THE PAY DISPARITY BETWEEN TYPICALLY FEMALE OCCUPATIONS AND OTHER JOBS: A BIVARIATE SELECTIVITY APPROACH, Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 42, 4, pp. 624-639, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 March 2014. Zorlu, A 2012, Ethnic Disparities in the Graduate Labour Market, Economics Research International, pp. 1-17, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 March 2014. Read More