Wage Gap Thesis

The Wage Gap

The wage gap affects women from all backgrounds, ages, and all levels of educational achievements. The wage gap existed since women started achieving their careers and having jobs. In most countries today women are considered less important than men, consequently they are being looked down upon when it comes to how much money they should be entitled to.

Each and every year women are being ripped-o ff of millions of dollars due to the Wage Gap. As a result families and businesses suffer. In this paper I will explain why the Wage gap exist between the sexes, how the Wage Gap affects women, and ways that can be used to close the Gap.

There are a number of reasons why the Wage Gap exists between men and women. However women earn

Although women and men still work in different careers they still predominate in different fields. Notably, within the same company women predominate in lower value and lower paid jobs. Women often work in health education or customer service where the work is lower valued and lower paid than those fields that are dominated by men. According to a census conducted in the United States of America in 2004 “ This gap has been static, as women have consistently earned only 77 percent of what their male counterparts earn..”(U.S Census 2004) Additionally, segregation is frequently tied to traditions and stereotypes. Even though in some cases this may reflect personal choices, traditions, and stereotypes still carry much weight for example, this is evident in the choice of educational path and professional careers young women choose. According to renowned economist Francine Blau and Lawrence Khan “about half of the gender wage gap in the economy is due to job segregation.” (Blau, Khan, Furthermore, women experience greater difficulties than men when it comes to leveling the field of work and private life. This

In the United Kingdom legislation related to gender inequality was first seen in the Sex Disqualification or Removal Act in 1919. “This piece of legislation made it illegal to for women to be denied or removed from their jobs because of their sex or marriage.” (Townsend-Smith 1986) According to Townsend Smith in a book on Sex Discrimination in Employment stated. “ In 1921 only 8.7 percent of married women in employment; by 1951 this had increased to 21.7 percent.” (Townsend-Smith, 1986) Also in the 1950s international action were starting to take on the issue equality of the sexes in employment around the world. To address this matter, the International Labor Organization, The United Nations responsible for setting internationally recognized labor standards, passed the Convention 100 on Equal Remuneration. Similar strides were also being made Rome and other countries. In February 1993 the U.S. Congress passed the Family and Medical leave Act. This bill was later signed by President Bill Clinton, making it law. This was to ensure protection for American families and American women. The act required employers to provide twelve weeks of leave for parents of new born and others who have family with care giving