Gender

Do You Hear What I Hear' The gender pay gap is common knowledge among working Americans. The question all women are asking is when will equality of income be accomplished. Is it an issue that women are still fighting for' Women have fought for many issues regarding equality over the years. Some issues required louder voices than others. Are women’s voices loud enough in this generation to overcome the adversity of their male counterparts' Over the decades gender equality has reached heights not thought of by early Americans. One of the first movements for women’s rights was the right to vote for our representatives in government. This movement was finally accomplished in 1920 (Lewis), 144 years after the birth of the United States of America. This is the same country that guaranteed freedom from oppression. Why did it take over 100 years to accomplish this feat' Now here we are 234 years since the big birth of liberty and freedom and still women are not treated as equals. This inequality resides directly in the corporate structure. Studies and research have proven that men are compensated more in the workplace than their women counterparts. How many more years will it take until we are treated as equals' The variation in the corporate pay structure varies between job descriptions, education, experience, and effort. A person with a high education naturally receives a higher pay scale. The same goes with experience. However, inequality exists in how these pay scales are calculated. A man and a woman have the same education, experience, and job position in Company X, but the man receives higher compensation even though they both are contributing equally. Why is this so' Some believe that this results from the psychology or biology that entails the woman. In a psychological study mating attributes were examined according to financial status. It showed that women were more likely to choose a financial stable mate than males did. Resulting in a gap between male and female pay according to their choice of a mate. The study indicates because of this certain attribute in mate selection, women are not so infused to have high wages as do their male counterparts (Frank and McKenzie). In 1970, 46 women filed a landmark gender-discrimination lawsuit against their employer Newsweek Magazine (Bennett, Ellison and Ball). The article discusses the movement that these women started to gain equality in their place of employment. But it asks a very important question: has it been accomplished' It is a known fact that pay inequality exists. U.S. Department of Education data show that a year out of school, despite having earned higher college GPAs in every subject, young women will take home, on average across all professions, just 80 percent of what their male colleagues do. Even at the top end, female M.B.A.s make $4,600 less per year in their first job out of business school, according to a new Catalyst study (Bennett, Ellison and Ball). Why this does still exist' The authors explain that equality between them and their male counterparts have improved since the landmark case. However not enough is happening to close that gap in pay or even in their case magazine exposure. "Contemporary young women enter the workplace full of enthusiasm, only to see their hopes dashed," says historian Barbara J. Berg. "Because for the first time they're slammed up against gender bias" (Bennett, Ellison and Ball). It seems that not only does pay inequality exists, but also exposure or a voice of ideas is not equal. The authors believe that the women’s rights voice has lessened over the years. They have lost their voices. Gail Collins indicates that that earlier generations had it easier to fight against specific laws, but today’s woman has to fight a battle against more complicated issues (Bennett, Ellison and Ball). Their voices or complaints are not being heard because the same people that hear them are the same that receive the higher pay – males. How are women supposed to get their points across without sounding whiney or complaining' A study conducted by Professor Linda C. Babcock of Carnegie Mellon University, indicates that both female and male executives are less likely to promote and raise the salary level of their female subordinates simply because the women negotiating are not as nice as their male co-workers (Vedantum). The study also shows that males are less likely to want to work with women who speak up (Vedantum). Instead of women being able to voice their disapproval or ask for more and receiving the same response as men, women are being scrutinized for their efforts. Women have come a long way. There are women CEOs and Presidents of very prestigious companies. However, the male population in these very select areas still is very high. Women do need to stand together as one. Today’s woman needs not to be afraid to speak up just like their predicesors did. Movements cannot be accomplished without attention. Women have to speak up and bond together once more for their rights as a working human being. Our legislators have to get involved more and introduce law that will guarantee equal pay across the board. Equal pay for equal work will happen sooner or later. It just depends on who is listening. Works Cited Bennett, Jessica, Jesse Ellison and Sarah Ball. "Are We There Yet'" Newsweek Magazine 29 March 2010. Frank, Steven A. and Richard B. McKenzie. "The Male-Female Pay Gap Driven by Coupling Between Labor Markets and Mating Markets." Journal of Bioeconomics (2006): 269-274. Lewis, Jone Johnson. about.com. 2010. 1 October 2010 http://womenshistory.about.com/od/essentials/u/womens_rights_history.htm. Vedantum, Shankar. "Sarlary, Gender and the Social Cost of Haggling." The Washington Post 30 July 2007: 6.