Gender Wage Gap: An Analysis

Now more than ever, the issues of gender inequality matter. With issues of sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination being explored in greater depth, it is important that policy makers also address the persistent gender wage gap that places women at a disadvantage in that they are paid less for the same work as their male counterparts. The gender wage gap reflects the patriarchal hegemonic dominance that lies at the very foundation of our society. It represents the fact that women have retained a second-class status for generations. Although there have been significant strides in closing the gender wage gap after the feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s, progress in this closure has slowed and has even grown in some cases for women at the top of the employment hierarchy. Clearly, more needs to be done to close the gender wage gap and bring greater potential for gender equality by empowering women financially to be on equal grounds with their male counterparts and coworkers. The gender wage gap is the difference in pay between men and women. It represents the different ratios each sex is paid for typically the same type of work in the same employment positions. According to the research, “on average, women continue to earn consistently less than men” (Gault, Hatman, & Hegewisch 1). Today, that average hovers around 80%. That means that women are paid only 80 cents for every dollar a man is paid for the same or similar work. Unfortunately, “irrespective of the level of qualification, jobs predominately done by women pay less on average than jobs predominately done by men” (Gault, Hatman, & Hegewisch 1). The difference in pay is present at all socioeconomic and education levels, demonstrating how it clearly plays a major role in dividing the opportunity and financial stability between the sexes. The fact that women and men are paid different amounts for the same work is a reflection of deeper gender inequality issues within American society as a whole. American society is based on patriarchal traditions, where men typically are the breadwinners and women are restricted to the role of house keeper, wife, and mother. This has discouraged women from entering the workforce for generations. Moreover, the type of characteristics needed to be successful in high profile or corporate jobs are often not associated with the ideal feminine archetype. Women are often discouraged from showing ambition, competitiveness, or aggression in the workplace or any environment for that matter (Blau & Kahn 43). Thus, when women are trained not to exhibit those types of characteristics, it makes it harder for many to succeed in more competitive employment environments. When women do demonstrate the desired characteristics in male executives, society often stereotypes them as bitter or undesirable. Clearly, the male dominated society wants to dissuade women from competing with men because the concept of women doing top jobs the same as—or better than—men is threatening to the very foundation of patriarchal dominance. Even in the middle class, there is a patriarchal influence that dissuades women’s equality in employment as a way to reinforce the male hegemonic dominance in society. There is an outdated belief that “it’s generally better for a marriage if the husband earns more than his wife” that is still pervasive in society (Blau & Kahn 44). The idea here is that by allowing the husband to earn more than his wife, he still retains the higher authority in the marriage. If the wife earned the same—or more—than he did, it would threaten the position of power than the man and husband has held for thousands of years in the family unit. Women who earn as much as men do not need to depend on men and thus are free to enjoy a greater degree of autonomy that would tear down the patriarchal dominance so embedded within society. Millions of women thus see the gender wage gap as one of the most important gender issues to combat. According to the National Project for Women and Families, “nearly six in 10 women (58 percent) in the United States identify equal pay as one of the most important issues facing women in the workplace” (1). The feminist movements of the 1960s and 1970s helped gain steam for efforts demanding equal pay and stopping discrimination. These movements won great successes, especially seen in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 that made it illegal to discriminate in pay or promotions because of gender. As society has pushed towards more progress towards gender quality, so have demands for better financial compensation. Thanks to such efforts, there has been a decrease in gap over the last decades that demonstrates the underlying demand for gender inequality. In a 2017 study using Census data from 1980 to 2010, Blau and Kahn found that “the long-term trend has been a substantial reduction in the gender wage gap, both in the United States and in other economically advanced nations” (791). There was a major decrease in the gender wage gap during the 1980s, just a decade or so after major feminist movements began demanding gender equality on a scale much larger than ever seen in this country before. Women today are paid more percentage of men’s wages than ever before. As society has opened up more educational and training opportunities for women, there have been more women in the workplace overall. Therefore, “women have been increasing their relative labor market qualifications and commitment to work” as more break free from the traditional role of housewife into the workplace (Blau & Kahn 792). Today, female workers make on average 82% of men’s wages. Even more optimistic, women between the ages of 25 and 34 make 89% of what their male counterparts do, which is a significant increase from earlier in the 20th century (Graf, Brown, & Patten 1). Women today are paid more percentage of men’s wages than ever before. Part of this stems from social movements that afford women greater opportunities that make them more equal to men. For example, more women attend college than ever before, which then helps them succeed more within the workplace. In the 25-34 age group that makes the highest ratio compared to men, 40.7% of women have a college degree, while only 36.6% of men do (United States Department of Labor 1). Clearly, greater social progress has been helping combat the gender wage gap and securing a more equal stance for women in the workforce and overall. The following chart shows the progress over the last decades in regard to the gender wage gap. (Graf, Brown, & Patten 1) Yet, even though the average wage has seen a decrease in the gender gap, it is still quite troubling that women in the top echelon of jobs are not seeing the difference between their pay and the men in similar roles around them. No matter what educational level of socioeconomic position, the gender wage affects women (National Partnership for Women and Families 1). Unfortunately, Blau and Kahn found in their 2017 study that “the gender pay gap declined much more slowly at the top of the wage distribution than at the middle or bottom and by 2010 was noticeably higher at the top” (789). Women in top corporate and academic positions are paid much less than the national average ratio, sometimes even only between 60-70%. The difference in pay also extends to stock and equity benefits, with men often being given greater equity shares in companies compared to female executives. This “suggests the possibility of a glass ceiling among highly skilled women,” who hit a limit on how equal they are allowed to be with the men in top positions in American society (Blau & Kahn 10). At the top positions, where women are the greatest threat to the patriarchal hegemony, they are still being placed at a major disadvantage. It seems that the male dominance wants to keep women out of the greatest positions of power, where they would be able to make the most difference in combatting gender inequality. Moreover, even the decrease that was seen in middle- and working-class jobs as slowed in its degree over the past decade. According to the Pew Research Center, “the gender wage gap in pay has narrowed since 1980, but it has remained relatively stable over the past 15 years or so” at women making around 82% of what their male counterparts do (Graf, Brown, & Patten 1). Even this smaller gender wage gap can have a major impact on the financial stability, and therefore autonomy, of women at all levels of employment. Graf, Brown, and Patten explain that based on women making around 82% of what men do in the same jobs, “it would take an extra 47 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2017” (1). This is a huge difference in the work and financial capabilities of average women. It causes women to have to worker harder and longer just to be on equal financial grounds with the average male worker in similar positions. To the National Partnership for Women and Families, “on average, women employed full time in the United States lose a combined total of more than $900 billion every year due to the wage gap” (1). That is major capital that continues to put women at a disadvantage. Even more concerning is that fact that minority women often make much smaller ratios compared to men and whites. The gender wage gap “is widest for many women of color,” as African women only make 61% of what a man makes, and Latina women only making 53% of what men make (National Partnership for Women and Families 1). Due to the intersectionality of race and gender oppression, women of color face multiple layers of discrimination in compensation compared to the dominant group—white men. The Institute for Women’s Policy Rights states that with the current circumstances, “Hispanic women will have to wait until 2233 and Black women will wait until 2124 for equal pay” (Gault, Hatman, & Hegewisch 1). This is simply unacceptable. Women of all races and socioeconomic statuses should have equal opportunity in a country where it is technically illegal to discriminate based on gender. Today, it is critical that we as a society work harder and more diligently to close the gender wage gap at the top levels, and all levels, as we continue to push for gender equality. Cohen and Huffman claim that “greater representation of women in management does narrow the gender wage gap” for all the women working underneath them in their teams (681). This also applies with executive positions, as women in leadership helps improve a company’s commitment to gender equality. As such, “the promotion of women into management positions” and top executive positions “may benefit all women” (Cohen & Huffman 682). From a practical perspective, it is important to review the potential for women in management and executive positions to influence within their individual organizations. According to Hultin and Szulkin, “gender wage inequality is to a substantial degree driven by everyday decision-making in organizations” (145). When there are only men at the top making these types of decisions, they may intentionally or unintentionally make decisions that keep women at a disadvantage. When women are high in the organizational power structures of a company, they are more likely to be able to influence larger decisions about employee compensation and promotion. Thus, even on a microlevel, women in top positions will have a greater impact on reducing the gender wage gap overall. Recently, California has made impressive moves to include more women in top positions. Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill on October 1 that made California “the first state to require publicly traded companies to include women on their boards of directors” (Bollag 1). By 2019, companies will need to have at least one woman serving on the board, with that number increased to 4 by 2021. Clearly, gender inequality is still persistent in the United States. Women on average still make less than their male counterparts in the workplace, which reflects ongoing gender discrimination and inequality. The worst is that the gender wage gap is highest at the top positions, where women have more of a say in organizational behavior that could be used to promote gender equality in the workplace. California recently saw Governor Jerry Brown pass a bill to force California companies to have women on the board of directors. This is a huge move that aims to even the playing field for women by putting more in a position of power to help raise the bar overall. Time will tell how effective the strategy is in combatting not just the gender wage gap, but gender inequality as a whole.