WomenandtheWageGap

Introduction
AsIamfinishingmyfirstsemesterincollege,thequestionofwhatIamdoing
withmylifeloomsovermelikeacloud.ThequestionWhatdoyouwanttobewhen
yougrowup?isexcitingforkidstoanswer,butwhenitcomestocollegestudents,itis
oftenthequestionmostavoided.Thefutureisalreadyascaryplaceand,forwomen,it
canbeevenscarier.Theissueoffairwagebetweengendersisstillonthemove.Women
workingindifferentfieldsarenotreceivingthesamepaycheckasmenholdingthesame
position.Iwanttoresearchwhywomenarenotpresentedwiththesameopportunitiesas
meneventhough,inthisdayandage,thewomenholdthesamesenseofknowledgeas
men.Iwillexplorewhythefemalegenderisstilllookedatasweakwhilealsotakinga
deeperlookonspecificcareersandcountrieswherewomenarealesserforcethanmen.
Manywomenincollegeworryabouttheirfutures,soIhopetofindawaywomenwill
haveequalpaycheckscomparedtomen.
LiteratureReview

Stereotypes
Merluzzi,Guthrie,andHollenbeck,threeauthorswhosewritingpertainstothis
issue,suggestthatthefemalestereotypeofweakerthanmenstillremains.Alltheauthors
ofthesesourceswouldagreethatthepaygapbetweengendersisaresultofthis;[an
unbalancedwagedifferentialcouldresultfromsexdifferencesinbeliefsaboutindividual
capabilitiesofeitherobtainingajoborperformingwellinit,Hollenbeckclearly
explains.Itisalsoacceptedthatwhenapplyingforjobsintheworkforce,women
applyingforjobshavebeenfoundtoaskforlessmoneythanmenbecausetheyfeelless
entitledto(Guthrieetal.91).Theauthorsalsohavethecommonbeliefthatwomen
receivedifferentopportunitiesthanmenbecausetheydonotobtainthejobforan
extendedamountoftime.MerluzziandDobrevexplainthatwomenaremorelikely
thanmentojumpshipandthusdevalueacompanyorjobleavingthemforother
circumstances(48).Addingontothisthought,theauthorsalsoexplainthatawomanin
theworkforceisautomaticallyplacedintothestereotypethattheywilleventually
prioritizefamilyoverworkwhichbringsmetomynexttopicofdiscussion(Merluzziet
al.48).
MaternityLeave
AccordingtoCabeza,Johnson,andTyner,theUSistheonlyindustrialized
nationwithoutapaid[maternity]leavepolicyleavingitoneoftheworstintheworld
(82).AgreeingwithhimareRobeyns,Merluzzi,andWood.Allfourarticlespertaining
tomaternityleavehavethesamegeneralidea;womenintheUSarenotgivenashighof
positionsasmeninacareerbecauseemployersrealizethatlaterondowntheroad,
womenwillmostlikelybetakingofftimetostartafamily.Incountriesotherthanthe
UnitedStates,womenandnewfamiliesaregrantedmoretimeoffandreceivea
paycheck.Forinstance,femaleemployeesintheUKhavearighttoatleast26weeks
paidmaternityleave,whereasfathershavearightto2weekspaidpaternityleave
(Robyens207).BecausetheUnitedStatesdoesnothaveapolicylikethis,womenthat

haveachievedtheroleasmanageroranyotherleadershippositionwithintheirfield,
havebeenknowntonotstartafamily;Only14percentofwomenmanagersaremothers
withchildrenunder18(Cabezaetal.84).Also,thesalarygapbetweenmaleandfemale
managersisproventoincreasewhenthefemalemanagerhaschildren.Cabeza,Johnson,
andTynerexplainthatin2007,femalemanagerswithchildreninthehouseholdearned
anaverage79centsforeachdollarearnedbymalemanagerswithchildreninthe
household[while]childlesswomenearnedanaverageof82centsforeachdollar
earnedbychildlessmalemanagers(84).Inall,thesesourcescometotheconclusionthat
womenaregettingpenalizedforstartingafamily.Notonlyaretheyreceivingalower
paycheck,buttheyarealsonotreceivinganequalchancetoexcelintheworkforce.
SpecificJobExamples
Sasso,Humphreys,Wood,Chi,andMillerlookintodifferentcareersandhowthe
womeninthemaretreateddifferentlythanmen.Millerdiscussesthesaidfactthatthe
paygapdiffersfrompublictoprivatesector.Hestatesthatbecausethepublicsector
doesnotgenerallypursueprofitmaximizationgoals,itcanindulgeanytastesfor
discriminationinwagesettingbehavior,andhencefemalesmayberelativelyworseoffif
employedthere(Miller).Now,eventhoughitisproventhatwomenintheprivatesector
haveabetterchanceofearningahighpaycheck,thepaygapiswiderandmengenerally
makealotmore.Allinall,femalesoverallhourlypayisalwayslessthanmales(Miller).
Movingon,itisimportanttounderstandthisissuebypayingattentiontodifferentjobs
wherethegapisprevalent.In2011,womenintheUnitedStatesrepresentednearlyhalf
ofallthemedicalstudents;however,itwasstillputintoquestionwhetherornotwomen
receivepaycomparabletotheirmalecolleagues(Sassoetal.193).Sasso,Richard,
Chou,andGerbersstudyconcludedthateventhoughlesswomenwereenteringthe
lowerpayingprimarycarefields,thepaygapbetweenamaleandfemalesstarting
salarystillremained(194).Moreover,femalecoachesinstructingNCAADivision1
womensbasketballteamsearnmorethanmencoachingawomensteam.Humphreys
goesintoexplainingthatbecausefemaleheadcoachesaremorescarcethanmale,
femalesdoreceiveahigherpaycheckfortheirservices;however,mencoachingmens
basketballmakemorethenbothmenandwomeninthewomensdivision.Thispaygap
inwomensbasketballcoacheswouldnarrowiffemaleheadcoachesearnedlessfrom
endorsements,camps,andmediaappearancesthanmaleheadcoaches(Humphreys
302).Additionally,becauselawyersarehighlypaid,womenwhohavechildrenareless
likelytoreceiveanequalpaychecktomenbecausetheopportunitycostofstoppingor
reducingworkhourstocareforchildrenwillberelativelyhigh(Wood,Corcoran,and
Courant419).Thisisafactwellknowntoalllawschoolgraduatesandtheirfuture
employers,whichautomaticallymakesitdifficultforwomentoreceiveajob.Payinga
femalemorethanpayingamalemeansriskingtheideathatthemalemightquitthejob
duetoalowpaycheck.Thisbecomesanissuewhenwomenleaveformaternityleave.
Interview
Duetothefactthatmytopicismostlybasedonwomen,Ifeltitwasimportantto
interviewawoman.Also,Ifelttheneedtointerviewateacherduetothefactthatthe
teachingworldisusuallyfemaledominant.Ifeltlikethisperspectivewouldgivemethe

leastbiasedanswers.Furthermore,itwasimportanttointerviewanemployedwoman
whohashadchildreninordertoreceivetheirperspectiveonmaternityleave;therefore,I
chosetointerviewMelissaWilliams.Ms.WilliamsisemployedbyCollierCountyPublic
Schoolsandhasbeenteachingfortwentyplusyears.Currently,sheworksatLakePark
Elementaryasa3rdgradeteacher.Throughoutherteachingcareer,Ms.Williamshasleft
formaternityleavetwice.Eventhoughsheispartofmyfamily,Ms.Williamsdidanswer
truthfullyandtookastepoutofthemotherlyrolewhenIconductedthisinterview.
Whenaskedifsheknewanythingaboutthegenderwagegap,Ms.Williamswas
awarebutcouldntgoindepthabouttheissue.Shefollowedthequestionwith,Asan
educator,thegenderwagegaphasntaffectedmebecauseIamonasetpayscale;
however,mostteachersarewomenandteachersarepaidbelownationalaverage.Ms.
Williamswascompletelyawareofthesituation,butdidnotseetheaffectsofawagegap
facetoface.Everyoneatherschool,excepttheadministrativeteam,receivesthesame
paycheckonpayday.Intheteachingprofession,teacherstakeallthebreaksthatstudents
doincludingacouplemonthsforsummer.Theissuewiththisisthatteachersarelivinga
couplemonthsoutoftheyearreceivingnoincome.Ifelttheneedtobringupthisissue
andaskifMs.Williamsbelievedteachersshouldbepaidoversummerbreak.She
explained,Oursalaryisbasedon9monthsofworkso,whileIfeelweshouldbepaid
forthattime,Idon'tthinkweshouldbepaidoversummer.Wearegivenanoptiontoget
lessupfrontforeachchecksothatalargecheckcomesrightbeforesummer.Allteachers
struggleoverthesummerandaredowntopenniesanddollarswaitingforthefirstcheck
ofthenewschoolyear.
OnedifferentthingthatoccursatLakeParkElementaryisthefactthatthe
principleisamalefigure.ThisledmetothequestionaskingifMs.Williamseverfelt
belittledbythemalegenderintheworkplace:Yes,Ihavebeenbelittledinmyjobs
beforeteaching.IheldtwodifferentsecretarialjobsinwhichIhadanoldermaleboss
makecrudecommentstomeandtreatmelikeapieceofmeat.Ievenhadonebossask
metoturnaroundandtellmewhataniceassIhad.However,asateacherIdontfeel
thatway.Mostmalesintheeducationfieldtreatfemalesasequalsessentiallysince
theyareoutnumbered.Mycurrentprincipal,whoisamale,isveryempatheticand
alwayshasanopeneartolisten.Ms.Williamsanswersupportsthefactthatmenfeel
theyarehigherupthanwomenbasedonstereotypeandmyintervieweerecognizedthat.
Sheunderstandsthat[the]stereotypeischangingandwomenarebeginningtobe
treatedequally.Ontheotherhand,Ms.Williamsalsorecognizedthatinaworkplace
runbyoldermen,thestereotypestillexiststhatwomencantdoasmuchasmen.
Ms.Williamshastwochildrenthatarenowinhighschoolandcollege;however,this
didntimpactanybiasofopinionduetothefactthatthematernityleaveguidelines
haventchanged.Ifelttheneedtodiveintothetopicofunpaidmaternityleavebecause
mostdontknowthattheUnitedStatesistheonlydevelopedcountrythatdoesntpay
theirnewmotherswhentheytaketimeoffthecarefortheirnewborns.Ms.Williamswas
shockedwhensheheardthisfact:Thatiscompletelyunfair.Ifeelwomenshouldbe
paidformaternityleavesincethosefirstmonthsarethemostimportantinachild'slife.
Also,mothersshouldn'thavetorushbacktoworkorbepenalizediftheystayhome.
ThosekidsarethefutureofAmerica.Movingon,Ialsobroughtupthequestionofif

aspiringmothersplantohavetheirbabiesclosertosummerbreaksounpaidmaternity
leavedidntbecomeanissue.Ms.Williamswasonwhodidplan:MyhusbandandI
plannedarefirstchildtoarriveinthespringsothatIcouldtakeleaveplushavesummer.
MysecondchildwasbornearlyandsoIhadtogobackforthelast2daysofschoolsoI
couldkeepmyinsurance.Thisconfirmedthefactthatunpaidmaternityleavehas
greatlyaffectedexpectingmothersevenbeforetheyaredeemedexpecting.
Conclusion
Inconclusion,afterconductingfurtherresearchandgainingaperspectivebya
womanintheworkforce,Ihaverealizedthegenderwagegapisstillanissueinthe
UnitedStates.Eventhoughwomenhavebeengrantedaslightrespect,theyarestillpaid
unequally.Thisisduetothefactthatwomenarealsonotgiventhechancetoexcelin
theircareer.Furthermore,unpaidmaternityleaveintheUnitedStateshashadanegative
impactonmothers.Workingwomenhavetakenseveralstepstomakesurethisissue
wontgreatlyaffectthemincludingthefactthatsomeevenplantheirpregnancy.By
givingwomenmoreleadershiprolesintheworkplace,Ifeelthegenderwagegapand
theseeminglyeverlastingstereotypeofwomenwouldsoonbedemolished.Addingon,
paidmaternityleavewouldalsogivewomenthechancetoraisetheirchildrencorrectly
inthemostimportantweeksoftheirlives.IfeelasthoughiftheUnitedStatesstarted
payingmothersformaternityleave,malebosseswouldnthavesuchanegativeopinion
aboutwomentakingextendedtimeofftocarefortheirnewborns.Thiswouldfurtherlead
tomalebossesallowingtheirfemaleworkerstoholdequivalentifnothighpositionsthan
theirmaleworkers.Thisinformationneedstobespreadthroughoutcollegecampusesto
womengoingintomaledominantprofessions.Ifeelthatifthesewomenheardthese
issueswhilestillincollege,itwouldgivethemabiggerincentivetodowellinschool
andstrivetobethebest.Furthermore,Ibelievethatifthisinformationweresharedtothis
audience,collegewomenwouldtakeactioninordertoreceivethesamerightsasmen.
Eventhoughthewagegapandthefemalestereotypehasreceivedsomepositivelightin
thepastcoupleyears,itstillremainsahugeissueaffectingmanyacrosstheUnited
States.

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