RUNNNG HEAD: GENDER -WOMEN AND THE GENDER GAP 1

GENDER

WOMEN AND THE GENDER GAP

Yesenia Cabral

HD361
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The topic I choose to write about is gender with the subtopic of women and the inequality

they face, not just here in the United States but around the world. This paper will focus on how

equality has changed. if it has changed at all? were we, as a nation, stand. and the things that can

we can do to change it.

When we think of equality we might think that all people are treated fairly. That if they

work and do an excellent job they will be compensated accordingly, unfortunately that is not the

case. women are going to work with the same education as a man yet they are being paid vastly

different salaries. The question is why? Why are women getting paid less? Why do they not seem

as equals? And most importantly is why are we letting this happen?

According to research, women working full-time are getting paid just eighty percent of

men leaving a twenty percent gap. Although the gap has narrowed since 1960 due to the

substantial number of women entering the work force. It was projected that if it continued by

2059 men and women would reach pay equality. But even that slow progress has stalled,

between the years 2001 through 2017 the slower rate now projects that pay equality will be

reached in the year 2152.

This gender gap will have lifelong financial effects which directly contribute to women’s

poverty. Fourteen percent of all American women ages 18- 64 live below the poverty level as a

pose to only eleven percent of men of the same age. Even after women leave the work force this

pay gap follows them. when women retire, they receive less income from social security because

they had been paid less to begin with.

Between 1967 and 2012 women were responsible of 28 percent of their household

income now it’s gone up to 63percent. so now 40 percent of mothers with children under the age
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of 18 are their family’s primary breadwinner. So, the fact they are not being paid equally should

in fact make us question, why? It is different in every state some States such as, New York and

Delaware have only a 10percent difference in pay between men and women as a pose to the 36

percent gap in Wyoming. Race also plays a huge factor. For example, Hispanic or Latino/a (54%)

and American Indian and Alaskan native women have lower median annual earnings compared

to non-Hispanic white (75%) and Asian women (85%) that is a 31 percent difference. age also

plays a role women between 18 and 24 get paid about 89 percent. Right out of school but women

after the age of thirty-five, it declines and the gender gap goes down to 80 percent. Education

and choice also play a role in the gender gap. Women and men choose different majors and types

of jobs after graduation. But women will experience the gaps at every education level and in

nearly every field of choice.

Becoming a parent is, seen as, personal choice that will affect your career “Many

employers and industries still prioritize long, continuous, traditional work hours rather than

flexible schedules, a preference that tends to put women with children at a disadvantage” (Miller

& Benson). Even with this mother are penalized because employers are less likely to hire

mothers and if they do they end up getting paid less than a childfree woman. Yet fathers do not

suffer a penalty. Also in the last fifty years, there has been an influx of women entering a male

dominated work force and very few women actually reach CEO level positons and the ones that

do get there are mainly no Hispanic white.

Now what can we do to change this well the first thing would be to know how your

college major will have an impact on the career you have chosen. Number two you can negotiate

your salaries, knowing what your skills are worth, making it clear what you bring to the table,

emphasizing common goals, and maintaining a positive attitude. And Number three, know your
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laws whether it’s at the state or the federal level. communicate to you legislators, send letters, get

the word out to your local newspaper or blogs.

People need to know what is happening. When I first thought about this topic I was told

to change it because I would not find much information and I almost gave up on this topic but

I’m glad that I didn’t I did not know that we as a country are 45th in the world as appose to last

year when we were 25th. We are literally going backwards and I don’t understand why. Why is a

man worth more than a woman? Why is it that we have the same education and we still can’t get

fair pay? And why is having children such a big deal we should be able to have children work

from home have flexible hours. I am a preschool teacher and I know that I do not get paid for all

that I do. And since its mainly a female dominated field I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

This research really opened my eyes I didn’t know that we had such a gap and that we were

falling that far behind.

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Reference

AAUW. (2017). The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap,

www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/