Gender Wage Gap Research Paper
RIDDING THE WORLD OF THE GENDER WAGE GAP American women have made tremendous amounts of progress down the path to gaining full equality. However, women still do not receive equal pay for equal work. There are some who refuse to believe the existence of a gender wage gap, but it is a common problem in the United States. The wage gap is the statistical indicator used to indicate the status of women’s earnings relative to men’s. The wage gap is usually expressed as a percentage, for example in 2012 women earned 80.9 percent of what a man’s income was. The gap is calculated by dividing the median annual earnings for women by the median annual earnings for men (Brunner). While the United States has made progress combating the wage gap by passing
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People who do not believe that the wage gap exist argue, “[women] are now earning a higher salary than men and if they choose to make the decision to stay in the workforce, they are more likely to be promoted than their male counterparts” (Andrews). While there are few studies that support this, the main issue that this raises is that of the women having to choose whether or not to stay in the workforce. In today’s workplace, many women have to choose between families and promotions. While men are not penalized for becoming parents, women will often see their earning power reduced because they have to take time off for childbirth or childcare. Women should not be made to choose whether they want careers or …show more content…
Although programs and laws have been created to combat the wage gap, it is still an issue that the world seemly does not have an answer for yet. With many refusing to believe the issue in the first place, the progress in ridding the world of the gap is slow. There are signs of progress, for example in Ireland the number of female lawyers is higher than the male lawyers. This is significant because this the first time in Ireland, maybe in the world, that women have become more prevalent in a man dominated career. (Kearney). However, there is still a long way to go before women will receive equal pay, for equal
People who do not believe that the wage gap exist argue, “[women] are now earning a higher salary than men and if they choose to make the decision to stay in the workforce, they are more likely to be promoted than their male counterparts” (Andrews). While there are few studies that support this, the main issue that this raises is that of the women having to choose whether or not to stay in the workforce. In today’s workplace, many women have to choose between families and promotions. While men are not penalized for becoming parents, women will often see their earning power reduced because they have to take time off for childbirth or childcare. Women should not be made to choose whether they want careers or …show more content…
Although programs and laws have been created to combat the wage gap, it is still an issue that the world seemly does not have an answer for yet. With many refusing to believe the issue in the first place, the progress in ridding the world of the gap is slow. There are signs of progress, for example in Ireland the number of female lawyers is higher than the male lawyers. This is significant because this the first time in Ireland, maybe in the world, that women have become more prevalent in a man dominated career. (Kearney). However, there is still a long way to go before women will receive equal pay, for equal