How Does Gender Pay Gap Affect Women

The gender pay gap persists even though civil rights laws prohibit discrimination. It is estimated that a woman that works full time will earn about 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. Over the working lifespan, this earnings difference is $700,000 for a high school graduate, and up to $2 million for a professional school graduate . As such, it is important to understand the real effects that the gender pay gap has on society. The limitations of this type of system do not only affect women, but also the economy as a whole. It also has a significant impact on the family unit. The focus of this single issues paper is on how the gender pay gap negatively affects women, and how this feeds back into overall economic losses for the country. In the United States, 42% of mothers who have children still living at home are the main (or only) breadwinner for their family . This means that these children are more likely to grow up under the poverty line. The pay gap becomes an issue not only of equal pay for equal work, but something that negatively affects generations. It may prevent certain families from making ends meet, which in turn impacts the children both now and later in life. They may not have access to pay for a college education, which will then further
This has been called the “mommy tax” – working women with children often have less access to raises because there is an unconscious bias against them . The myth persists that women with children are all much less committed to their careers than men with children. In contrast, men with children are often seen as being more responsible and have a tendency to receive higher pay and more promotions after having children . In essence, the association between families and the gender pay gap is a vicious circle. There is also evidence that male children also get paid a higher allowance than girls for the same chores, again compounding the