Addressing the Gender Pay Gap

Over time, women's participation in the workforce has greatly increased. In 1970, less than 50% of women were employed. In 2016, the percent multiplied over 1.5 times, leading to a bit more than 70% of women employed. Not only are a higher percentage of them employed, but they have high-level

positions and longer hours. That’s an

incredible improvement, right? Yes. However, it is still harder for them to get jobs and prove themselves as equals to men in the workforce. Proof of continuous discrimination is present in the infamous gender pay gap-- the average difference in salary between men and women-- that persists to this day.

Let’s break down the gender gap into more specific numbers. According to a census done in 2018, women earn 82 cents for every dollar a man makes, which is approximately a 20% decrease. Almost all women don’t get paid in equal amounts to men, but the gender pay gap between women of color is much greater. For instance, Hispanic women are the target in most cases. On average, they make only 55% of the average white man’s dollar. Following close behind, Native American women make 57%, African American women make 62%, white women make 79%, and finally, Asian women make 90% of the dollar the average white male makes.

The gender wage gap has a few different causes including differences in experience, hours worked, and discrimination. Society's views of women dating back to the 1800s have created expectations for women that aren’t the same for men and those expectations are still pressured on women. You see this in society when assertive women are labeled “bossy,” while assertive men aren’t, and when men are praised for taking care of their children, while for women it is an expectation, and when women are stigmatized for having sexual partners, while men are rewarded. Evident social expectations that insist on women to take on at-home responsibilities, prevent them from working longer hours, thus leading them to less work experience. These said “obligations,” comparatively place men at an advantage career-wise because men do not face any expectations, like women, to be in the center of household duties. Undoubtedly, while there is a law against gender pay discrimination, prejudice against women is still present.

The gender wage gap has been difficult to change. Since 2010, there has only been a four-cent effect. There has been a study predicting that there will no longer be a pay gap by 2059, but that’s not for another 38 years. There are a couple of ways to improve this: some examples would be increasing pay transparency. If people are more open to sharing their salary in the workplace, it could decrease the pay gap by almost 30%. Another method would be to create more unions. Unions advocate for equal pay, but can also help with fair scheduling and paid leave. These are just a few possible solutions, but action needs to be taken now to ensure equality isn’t delayed for another four decades.