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Maria Ceja
Professor Yogita Maharaj
Writing 10: Section 34
May 8, 2014
The Gender Income Inequality in the United States
Abstract
In the following proposal, the various factors that contribute to the gender income gap in the
United States, such as, level of education, attitude’s, and external factors will be discussed in
detail. Sources that support the central argument will be incorporated in order to demonstrate
how the gender income gap continues to exist and affect women today. Moreover, counterarguments will be incorporated in order to demonstrate the different perspectives that others have
on the gender income gap. Finally, solutions will be presented in order to discuss the possible
ways to narrow the gender income gap or better yet eliminate it.
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Introduction
A century ago, a women was expected to stay at home to raise the children. A women
was expected to be a loving and supportive wife to her husband. A women’s opinion did not
matter and her voice was never heard because women were not considered to have one. As the
years have progressed, the role of women has evolved dramatically, going from submissive to
independent, confident, and outspoken. Today women obtain college degrees, acquire stable
jobs, provide for their families, and take on leadership roles that half a century ago did not seem
possible because of the restrictions that men placed on women. With so many improvements, it
would seem as if women and men would earn around the same amount of income. However,
despite an increased improvement in the role of women, a gender income gap continues to affect
many women today in the United States and it is important to analyze the factors that contribute
to the gender income inequality in the United States, because of the negative effects it has on
society. It is unfair that women to this day continue to be treated as second hand citizens, as if
they are not qualified to be paid the same amount of money as men despite doing the same
amount of work. Society continues to look down upon women, disregarding their intellect and
capabilities to work and in turn force women to feel as if they are not good enough to be equal to
men. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to the gender income
gap in the United States so that solutions can be created that will put a stop to the gender income
gap.
In the following proposal, the various factors that contribute to the gender income gap in
the United States, such as, level of educational attainment, attitude’s, and external factors will be
discussed in detail. Sources that support the central argument will be incorporated in order to
demonstrate how the gender income gap continues to exist and affect women today. Moreover,
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counter-arguments will be incorporated in order to demonstrate the different perspectives that
others have on the gender income gap. Finally, solutions will be presented in order to discuss the
possible ways to narrow the gender income gap or better yet eliminate it.
The Root of Inequality
Before, the gender income inequality became an issue that affected many women today,
inequality must have started somewhere. Before, the gender income inequality can be
understood, the origins of the gender income inequality must be understood, so that solutions can
be created in order to stop this inequality from emerging in the first place. Most people are
exposed to their first experience with a job when they are teens, usually taking on jobs that range
from receiving an allowance from parents, babysitting, or mowing lawns for neighbors. In an
academic article titled “The Cost Of Being A Girl: Gender Earning Differentials In The Early
Labor Markets” written by the NWSA Journal, the NWSA Journal discusses the gender
inequality by focusing on the youth labor market. This article is very unique because it focuses
on the youth labor market rather than focusing on the adult labor market like most traditional
research does.
There are many reasons that attempt to explain why the gender income inequality
continues to affect our society today. For instance, women earn less than men because women
tend to focus on their domestic duties and childcare responsibilities which in turn inhibit women
from being able to be productive at work. Another factor that contributes to the gender income
inequality has to do with the difference in education and experience between men and women.
Yet, another factor that focuses on the differences in industries, states that women tend to work
in “feminine” occupations that require nurturing skill whereas men seek positions in
management which in turn results in higher pay. However, these explanations do not fully
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explain the gender income gap and there must be other reasons for why the gender income gap
exists.
When analyzing the youth labor market, the first instance of a gender income gap begins
with the 14 to 15 year old age group, with boys earning more than girls and that gap increasing
as the year’s progress. There are many reasons for why the gender income gap begins at such an
early age. Some factors consist of boys and girls obtaining different types of jobs, for example,
boys tend to do outdoor jobs that consist of mowing the lawn, raking leaves, and delivering
newspapers and these jobs result in higher pay. Whereas girls tend to babysit, do chores or do
nothing at all. When analyzing the gender income gap in the youth labor market, education and
experience do not play a role because both genders have the same level of education and
experience which is close to none and therefore, there must be other reasons for why the gender
income gap begins.
A Rise In Education
A century ago, not many women, obtained a college education, because it was primarily
meant for men. Women depended on men in order to survive. Women in turn stayed home in
order to raise the children and take care of the responsibilities of the house. However, in today’s
society the role of women has changed dramatically, and not many women stay at home just to
take care of the kids. The role of women in education is one example of where women’s roles
have changed dramatically. Today, more women attend college and obtain college degrees. As
a result, women are able to obtain stable jobs that allow them to provide for themselves and their
families. However, a gender gap exists within the educational system which in turn correlates
with the gender income gap. For instance, in an academic article titled “Playing The Numbers”
written by William R. Doyle, the author explains how women have been fighting a long and
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continuous battle in order to obtain a higher education. For instance, “in 1947, 29 percent of
students in higher education were women” (Doyle 1) and in “1970, their share rose to about 40
percent” (Doyle 1). There are many reasons that contribute to the gender gap in higher education
in the United States and it begins with the completion of high-school. Many young girls do not
complete high school, due to external factors such as, unplanned pregnancies, lack of resources,
lack of support, etc. and in turn are not able to graduate from high school and are not able to
obtain a job because of the lack of education. Due to a low rate of young girls graduating high
school, the gender income gap begins to manifest itself right after high school.
There is a high importance placed on both men and women to complete high school and
to attend college in order to earn a degree. In this time and day, women have to obtain a higher
education in order to obtain a stable job and provide for herself and her family. However, just
because a women earns a degree, does not necessarily mean that she will earn more than a man
because there are other factors that affect women. For instance, women earn less because “of
interruptions in their career for childbearing and child raising, and their different choices in
college majors and careers” (Doyle 3). These factors may contribute to the gender income gap
but there are still people out there such as, Donna Bobbit-Zeher, a professor at Ohio State
University who specializes in gender and inequality, that state that even “if women and men had
similar educational credentials, scores on standardized tests, fields of study, and degrees from
colleges of similar selectivity, the gap in earnings would be about $4,400” (Doyle 3). Therefore,
the gender income gap is not primarily due to a lack of education.
The Choice
Another factor that contributes to the gender income gap in the United States, has to do
with the choices that women make. For instance, when attending college, women choose what
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major and career path they will take. Such choices determine how much income someone will
obtain. Women have made dramatic changes within the past years, for in the past, only a few
women held workplace positions of public power or authority and only a handful of women were
able to obtain jobs of higher ranks at large companies such as being president or C.E.O. Many
women also tended to obtain jobs that concentrated mainly in nursing, elementary and secondary
school teaching because these types of jobs were considered to be “feminine”.
Women today have begun to obtain degrees that are career-focused with “60 percent of
the bachelor’s degrees in biological sciences, 50 percent in business, 47 percent in math, and 42
percent in physical sciences” (Bradbury and Katz 2) obtained by women. Due to the changes in
education, a shift in the labor market is apparent and according to the academic article titled
“Women’s Rise: A Work In Progress” written by Katharine Bradbury and Jane Katz, 80 percent
of the labor force is made up college-educated women. Women today account for “half of all
managerial and professional occupations, including 22 percent of architects, 28 percent of
lawyers, 39 percent of veterinarians, and 30 percent of physicians” (Bradbury and Katz 3). With
such obvious improvements made by women, the reader will automatically assume that women
are in fact climbing the ladder and are surpassing men at all levels. However, women face
challenges when it comes to balancing family and career. When women finally reach the top of
the ladder, women are faced with the tough decision of having to opt out of their career in order
to tend to the home, husband, and children. The number of highly educated professional women
having to leave their careers because they choose to spend more time with their families seems to
be increasing as the year’s progress. This new trend of women opting out of their careers, is not
because they have to, but because they want to and it does not mean that the preference of
women has changed or that the social norms have shifted. This just means that women are
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earning less than men because they choose to spend more time with their families and therefore
earn less because they work less hours than men.
Counter-Arguments
What Gender Gap?
Due to an increased number of women entering the work force many people assume that
the gender income gap does not exist anymore and that the gender income gap affects men rather
than women. With an increased number of women obtaining a college education and obtaining
degrees it is easy to assume that women are obtaining jobs quickly and surpassing men at all
levels. It is true that women today are more educated, independent, outspoken, and driven than
ever before and it is true that women are surpassing men. For instance, in an academic article
titled “Which Gender Gap” written by Reihan Salam, the author analyzes gender and wages in
the United States and mentions how women are having to work because men’s wages are
suffering immensely and in turn, women are required to work in order for them to put food on
the table. Moreover, household work has begun to grow less culturally prestigious and women
are no longer conforming to staying home to take care of the house and raise the children but
rather are attracted to this new idea of challenging themselves even more. Moreover, the rates of
single-mother families with children has increased from 7.3 percent in 1960 to 25.3 percent in
2011. This statistic just comes to show how women are no longer depending on men to provide
for them and their families but are rather taking the initiate to work for themselves. The rise in
woman providers in the household has made the gender gap a lot more noticeable and a
shrinking in the gender gap can be concluded.
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However, just because there has been an increase in women in the labor force does not
mean that the gender income gap is shrinking. There are many factors that inhibit women from
being able to prosper financially and excel in the workplace. For instance, women with children
have to opt out of their careers in order to become readily available for her family. On the other
hand, women who do not have children are faced with gender discrimination despite having the
same level of skill, education, and experience as the opposite sex. The gender income gap may
be improving slightly, but it continues to exist and it doesn’t seem to close enough to where both
men and women are paid equally.
Solutions
With the gender income inequality affecting many women and men today, it is important
to analyze the factors that contribute to the gender income inequality so that solutions can be
created that will put a stop to this gap. Just a couple months ago on April 8th, President Obama
signed two executive orders that would increase pay protections for women. The first executive
order bans federal contractors from being able to retaliate against workers who talk about their
salaries. This is an important order towards equal pay because federal contractors are what make
up a quarter of the civilian workforce and many workers won’t discuss their salaries because of
the fear of being punished for it. Moreover, the second executive order tells the U.S. Department
of Labor to collect wage data from federal contractors, such as race and sex. By doing so, the
U.S. Department of Labor will be able to identify the point of discrimination. These two
executive orders send out a powerful message to companies that are awarded government
contracts. They tell these companies that they cannot discriminate. However, these two
executive orders do not protect every worker and there are adjustments that need to be made to
the Equal Pay Act of 1963 so that everyone is protected.
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The two executive orders are not enough to stop the gender income gap because it does
not protect everyone from being discriminated based on their gender. It is also important for
policies that allow women the opportunity to access higher-paying jobs and that increase the pay
in the jobs that women already work in. Next, family friendly policies need to implemented so
that women are allowed to work and not have to choose between their careers and families.
Studies demonstrate that countries that enforce these types of laws have a “higher labor
participation rate among women than in the United States” (Kim 4).
Aside from creating policies that will help eliminate the gender income gap, women
should speak up about their salaries because if they don’t then no one else will. Men should also
support women policies and advocate for and with women so that a change can happen in trying
to equalize everyone’s pay. It shouldn’t matter whether a woman has children or not, the point is
that everyone should have the equal opportunity to apply for a job and have the equal chance of
getting hired. Gender should not be a determining factor for pay.
Conclusion
Despite, the improvements that women have made over the past years, the gender income
gap continues to affect millions of women in the United States today, and by analyzing the
factors that contribute the gender income gap, solutions can be created in order to reduce or
eliminate the gender income gap. The number one cause for the gender income gap in the
United States seemed to be linked to education and career interruptions due to childbearing and
domestic duties. Another reason for the gender income gap was associated with the lack of
availability of jobs that accommodate to women’s needs such as babysitting and female-friendly
policies in the workplace.
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Solutions that address these main reasons for the gender income gap will dramatically
reduce the gap that exists between men and women. Such solutions need to be made in order to
redefine the role that women play in our society. Women are not second-class citizens and are
equally capable as men to get the job done. Family-friendly policies need to be created in order
for women to have the flexibility to take care of their families without impacting their income
negatively.
The gender income gap is an issue that not only affects women but rather as a negative
effect on everybody. If no one takes personal responsibility for the big gap that exists between
men and women, the gender income gap will only continue to widen and affect millions of
women world-wide. It is time to take action and eliminate the gender income gap for good.