Essay Draft-Xiaohong Li

Summary

Is the pay gap related to gender?

Historically, discrimination against women in the workplace has always existed, and men have always dominated the workplace, holding most or all senior positions. Moreover, in some equivalent positions, women's salaries are lower than men's. [1] Women have also been fighting for equal pay. And among the obstacles that prevent women from engaging in work is the pay gap. Some people think that women's own career choices lead to pay inequality, but more people think that the reason why women's pay is lower than men's is related to gender.
In the job market, employment opportunities for women and men are inherently unequal. In the current job market, although there is no clear statement that women will not be recruited, various conditions are used to create obstacles for women. Some will euphemistically say that the job requires business trips, a heavy workload, and is more suitable for men; some companies even directly publicly stated during the interview that they hope that employees who are unmarried and childless can get more job opportunities. Some companies even set double standards in employee promotion, thinking that men who do not need to take leave for pregnancy or family leave are more suitable for executives than women with the same qualifications. In "Gender inequality in the workplace: A lack of women in leadership" by author, Christina Pavlou mentions that women suffer from inequality in both employment opportunities and career advancement. In the same 2018 study of women in the workplace, for every 100 men promoted to manager level, only 79 women were promoted. For example, consider an engineering position.[2] Positions like this have traditionally had more male applicants, so naturally, these male candidates are hired and eventually promoted to management positions. Then women cannot get promoted or get employment opportunities in the workplace, which also leads to women bouncing back and forth in positions with lower salaries than men.
Gender discrimination against women in the workplace has always been a common problem. Women are especially vulnerable to lower pay in the workplace. Examples include sexist statements and actions, and issues such as sexual harassment and assault. [3]These problems not only bring psychological distress and physical harm to women but also affect their career development and economic status. About four in 10 (42%) working women in the U.S. say they experience discrimination at work because of their gender. They report a variety of personal experiences, from being paid less than their male colleagues for the same work to being ignored in important tasks, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center survey data. A 2020 survey found that the average American woman earns only 82 percent of what a man earns.[4] Furthermore, despite women's higher representation in many occupations, they still earn lower average wages than men in these occupations.
But there are also some opponents who argue that women's career choices are a willingness for the gender pay gap, not just because of gender. Many women need flexible hours to care for their families and may choose to slow down their careers or decline promotions. [5]Nearly half of the married women in the Harvard study said they chose a more flexible job, 26 percent slowed down their career pace, and 9 percent turned down promotions because of family responsibilities. [6]At the same time, such positions as housekeeping, confinement nurses, protectionists, etc. are more inclined to choose women because of the particularity of the service targets, and the wages of these jobs are mostly not high, which makes women's wages lower than men's.
Around the world, more and more women want the right to equal pay for equal work in the workplace, but the vast majority of the pay gap is still related to gender. Women's choice of flexible working hours does not become an obstacle to salary. The reason is that women are discriminated against in the workplace and cannot receive equal opportunities. An environment that supports women's workplaces should be created. For example, employers in various fields should consider the needs of each employee's family to ensure that each employee can enjoy a fair and equal workplace life,

Reference/Cites

[1] Roepe, L. (2019, November 8). The gender pay gap. CQ researcher, 29, 1-18. http://library.cqpress.com/

--“Women continue to be paid less than men in the United States despite decades-long efforts to close the gap”

[2] Christina, P. (2023). Gender inequality in the workplace: A lack of women in leadership. Resources For Employers. https://resources.workable.com/stories-and-insights/gender-inequality-in-the-workplace

[3] O'Malley, S. (2017, October 27). Workplace sexual harassment. CQ researcher, 27, 893-917. http://library.cqpress.com/

--“There are too many of these men abusing their power against women who are looking for funding for their ideas, as these women try to break into an industry that is overwhelmingly dominated by men,” Jackson told The Mercury News.

[4] Kim P. & Cary F.(2017, December 14). Gender discrimination comes in many forms for today’s working women. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-in-many-forms-for-todays-working-women/

[5] Stencel, S. (1981). Equal pay fight. Editorial research reports 1981 (Vol. I). http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1981032000

-- “Because of their family responsibilities many women prefer jobs that require little or no overtime.”

[6] Claire, Cain Miller. (2015, July 22)More Than Their Mothers, Young Women Plan Career Pauses. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/upshot/more-than-their-mothers-young-women-plan-career-pauses.html?ref=oembed