Essay on Gender Wage Gap

The gender pay gap is the measure of the womens and mens difference in their earnings in the labor market. The gap indicates the gender inequality that exists in the society. Over the decades, women have made huge strides to increase their skills and knowledge in the labor market. Their share in the labor force is on the rise every year, and today, in many households, women are the primary or equal breadwinners. Despite their gain, the gender pay gap that still exists is enormous. The gender pay gap goes beyond monthly wages, it also covers retirement benefits, paid family and sick leave and employer-sponsored health. The gender wage gap is a result of discrimination, segregation in the labor market, traditions and stereotypes, unequal caring responsibilities.

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Causes

Discrimination.

Direct Gender discrimination happens when individuals with the same educational attainment level and experience in the field are treated in different ways because of gender. It could be different levels of pay for similar works or the same pay for different job requirements (Rubery, 2015). Women employees are many in some sectors such as secretaries, nurses and teachers. These areas are also among the underpaid work areas, and when compared to their male colleagues, women still earn less. Women are known to choose only certain types of occupations, but still, men are favored over women by the employer by adapting a working environment that only suits the male. Unfair treatment of women still exists especially around maternity. Many women leave their jobs early because of being treated poorly by being underpaid.

Segregation in the Labor Market.

The pay gap is also attributed to the segregation in the labor market. Men and women still work in different kinds of jobs and often each of them predominates in different sectors. Within the same sector, women are predominant in low-valued and low-paid jobs. The health, education, and public administration sectors are among those sectors where women are predominant but these sectors are also the low paid ones. Women are not equally represented in managerial positions. For example, in the largest listed EU companies, women represent around 17% of the total board members.

Unequal Caring Responsibilities.

The largest portion of individuals who take of the sick, the elderly and children are women. This forces them to enrol in part-time jobs which pay very low wages and has fewer chances of progression. These caring responsibilities often lead to discrimination and unfair treatment. Women who were on maternity leave are given junior roles in their workplace when they return while some leave their job earlier because of being treated poorly, being fired or made redundant after giving birth. The wage gap increases when women are in their forties. Women try to raise their children and when they return, their promotion opportunities are reduced while the male colleagues are being promoted.

Traditions and Stereotypes.

Traditions and stereotypes reflect personal choices that an individual makes. They influence education path choice and the professional careers choices that women make. A higher percentage of university graduates is women, but their fields are often minor such as computing, mathematics, and engineering. Also, scientific and technical jobs have few women employees, and this leads to women working in low-paid economic sectors. These traditions and stereotypes expect women to work for fewer hours in the labor market or quit altogether to take care of their families or the elderly.

Solutions

Implement Pay Transparency.

Pay transparency will enable all the employees to know what their counterparts are earning hence women will know if they being paid less than what the men are being paid (Rubery, 2015). By implementing it, people will be getting paid according to their productivity. The highest pay will go to those who work hard and deserve it and not those who ask or threaten to quit or those who have a close relationship with the boss.

Eliminate Negotiation.

Women are known to be poor when it comes to negotiation for wages. They always avoid negotiation and will settle for the first offer that is presented to them by the employer. Many women feel that the boss will not like them if they pursue a higher salary. ("Forbes Welcome", 2016) It can be difficult to eliminate negotiation completely when hiring employees with different experience, but it can reduce gender wage gap when it comes to hiring entry-level employees.

Make Childcare Affordable and of High Quality

Parents who have low income and cannot afford quality early childhood programs have trouble fulfilling their jobs demand as they have to take care of their families themselves. It also inhibits long-term success. Creation of a high quality and affordable child care supports the working parents and increases the womens ability to retain a job, perform well in the workplace and reduce the gender wage gap.

Introduce a Paid Family and Medical Leave.

Women are the ones who have the responsibility of caregiving, and their chances of leaving a paid job are high to take care of their families. An insurance program that gives paid family and medical leave will provide wage replacement to men and women when they take their time off to offer family care. This will reduce work histories gap in which women are always the victims. This will minimize the gender wage gap and women will have the opportunity to rise through ranks.

References

7 Actions that Could Shrink the Gender Wage Gap Center for American Progress. (2016).

Americanprogress.org. Retrieved 23 November 2016, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2014/09/18/97421/7-actions-that-could-shrink-the-gender-wage-gap/Chichilnisky, G. (2009). Gender pay gap. International Journal Of Green Economics, 3(2), 157.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/ijge.2009.030991Forbes Welcome. (2016). Forbes.com. Retrieved 23 November 2016, from

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2015/11/19/two-solutions-for-the-gender-pay-gap-that-can-be-implemented-today/#2cc51e2268adMaskiell, M. (1990). Narrowing the Gender Gap. By Geeta Somjee . New York: St. Martin's

Press, 1989. xvi, 155 pp. $45.00.Daughters of Independence: Gender, Caste and Class in India. Joanna Liddle and Rama Joshi. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1989. viii, 262 pp. $35,000 (cloth); $15.00 (paper).Status of Single Women in India; A Study of Spinsters, Widows and Divorcees. By N. S Krishnakumari. Joint Women's Programme Publication. New Delhi: Uppal Publishing House, 1987. 191 pp. The Journal Of Asian Studies, 49(03), 686-688. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021911800052001Rubery, J. (2015). Closing the Gender Pay Gap in the EU. Intereconomics, 50(2), 62-63.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10272-015-0527-1