Gender Pay Gap Discussion

Gender Pay Gap Discussion

Discrimination is one of the main issues facing most societies. There are different types of discrimination targeting a specific group of people, which is why we need so many layers of anti-discrimination legislation. The layers focus on covering any loopholes that could expose a particular group of people, such as women, people of color, and people with disabilities, to any form of discrimination. Unfortunately, women continue to face discrimination in access to equal pay. In many organizations, women are still earning less than men despite completing the same tasks and despite the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, which prohibits employers from determining an employee’s pay based on their gender. According to Schifman et al. (2021), the main factors contributing to the unequal pay between women and men include gender roles, education, occupational segregation, pregnancy, and motherhood. These factors make it hard for women to push for equal pay and take action against employers who violate anti-discrimination laws such as the Equal Pay Act.

Women continue to be paid less than their male counterparts despite the laws intended to eliminate the gender pay gap because most women have accepted the stereotypes against them. Women are also unable to push for their rights regarding equal pay because of gender roles that may require them to take some time off work. For instance, some women may feel that the employer is justified to pay them less than their male counterparts because they may request a pregnancy leave and some time off to care for their families. Most women also have limited opportunities to advance their education once they start having children, thus forcing them to accept the reality of being paid less than their male counterparts because they do not have the same education levels. Therefore, the reality that women are still paid less than men can be reconciled by empowering women to seek top positions in organizations so that they can advocate for the implementation of laws that prevent gender discrimination, such as the Equal Pay Act and the wage transparency legislation.

References

Schifman, L., Oden, R., & Koestner, C. (2021). Gender wage gap: Causes, impacts, and ways to close the gap. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 663–673. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95687-9_50

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Please read about the laws found in the Readings>>Laws folder, particularly the Equal Pay Act, the Civil Rights Act, and the Lily Ledbetter Act. These are all FEDERAL laws (meaning all states must follow them).
For this discussion, please answer the following: Why do we need so many “layers” of anti-discrimination legislation? And why are women still earning less than men? Check out this resource on Equal Pay Day: Equal Pay Day in USA in 2024 | There is a Day for that!
How do/can you reconcile the reality that women (in many states) are still paid less than their male counterparts with what the aforementioned laws presumably intended?
In your post, you might consider wage transparency legislation as a (partial) solution to pay inequities. New York just passed this law, and it went into effect on September 17, 2023! Pay Transparency | Department of Labor (ny.gov)