Eligible Wage: Women are still making less money than men

There are people in this world who believe that women do not have the strength and the intelligence of a man and therefore cannot complete a “man’s job.” Women have always been known to be the caregivers, which is why they are expected to cook, clean, and be stay-at-home moms and housewives. On the other hand, men have been given the responsibility to bring home the paycheck and take care of the finances. However, approximately 76 percent of American women have jobs outside their household, according to the book Half the Human Experience, by Janet Shibley Hyde. It is said that a woman makes only 73 cents for every dollar that a man makes (a fact that has also been proven by the U.S. Census Bureau). More time and again women may receive less pay because of sex discrimination that can be presented in a discreet manner from their employer

On the website www.forbes.com, author Warren Farrell has given a reason why there is a wage gap between genders. Based on research, Farrell says that men make decisions that lead them to make more money, and women make decisions to live a better life and have time with family and friends. Of course many women take time off work for maternity leave, but after the baby is born it is only natural that they may want to focus on family rather than on work. As stated before, women are known to be caregivers, and men are not.

However, the issue with the wage gap can fall further into sex discrimination within the workplace, even if women have valid reasons for the choices they make. Within workplaces, the employer could possibly put women underneath a glass ceiling––allowing women to only be promoted up to a certain position. Issues surrounding race and level of education (the level of intelligence) also affect the ability of women to move up the corporate ladder.

According to website money.cnn.com, Asian-American women are likely to earn more than other women. In 1999, Asian-American women earned approximately $33,100; white men earned approximately $44,200; and white women earned $30,900. However, African American women made only $27,600 a year.

Sometimes there are people who make more money without a college degree than people who do have a college degree, depending on the career path they select. Yet a study in Hyde’s book showed that when women are able to do the same quality of work a man does, inferiority among women has a high standard within the workplace. It seems that the work of men is valued more, even if it is identical to the work of a women. Many jobs are held by one sex (male or female) and the more women that are in a workplace, the less pay they receive.

There is no doubt that women can do any job a man can do, but aside from women having their own careers, being able to vote, and even running for the U.S. presidential campaign, civilization now, in 2008, ought to come to a different level where equality pay for both genders can be made possible.

*Photo by GMO Photographer Billy Montgomery.