Gender Parity

Throughout history, women have been fighting inequality at home, work, and in society. Women are relegated to responsibilities at home like child rearing or household chores. The gender wage gap is when men and women are in the same occupation with the same responsibilities in a workplace, yet men are paid more than women. Currently in 2019, women in the United States are being paid seventy nine cents every man is paid a dollar. Since 1980, the gender pay gap has been getting better over the years, but currently, it has stalled. Using TIME’s calculations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women from ages 16 to 70 are losing out on more than five hundred thousand dollars their whole lifetime because of the gender wage gap. The gender wage gap goes against Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which states, “Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work” (UDHR Art. 23).

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Works Cited: 

UN General Assembly. "Universal Declaration of Human Rights." United    Nations, 217 (III) A, 1948, Paris, art. 23, http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/. Accessed 1 Dec. 2019.

Graph detailing the disparity between men and women's annual median earnings from 1980 to 2015. 

Women make up half of the world population and have made substantial progress in the workforce since the 1960’s in the United States, yet they are still underpaid. In 1960, women only made up 33% of the workforce, but in 2015, they made up 50% of the civilian labor force. The greatest disparity between men and women’s income was in the 1980s, but in the 2000s, the advancement has stalled. Women have expanded from nursing and teaching jobs—jobs viewed only for females to jobs like engineers, CEOs, or being in the STEM field. However, even if women have the same social standing, education, and professional skills, they are still paid less than their male counterparts. In the 2015 census from the United States, women are only paid 80 cents of a whole dollar that men earn. Even if women are in the same occupation and have the same responsibilities, they do not receive the same acknowledgment and earnings than men. In Washington DC, a woman who works as a physician or surgeon would lose out on billions of dollars per year compared to their male counterparts. The underestimation of women leads to them losing promotions and opportunities to climb up the social ladder. All women deserve the right to equal pay for equal work; if there was no occupational segregation, many women would be more willing and confident to go into the workforce.

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Women’s Earnings and the Wage Gap. Women’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, 2017, permanent.gpo.gov/Womens_Earnings_and_the_Wage_Gap_17. Assessed 1 Dec. 2019.

TedTalk by Saadia Zahidi speaking about gender parity. How to be aware, analyze, and take action about the wide gender parity.

Gender parity does not only happen in the United States, it happens on a global scale. Around the world, many cultures hold males in high regard leading to parents prioritizing their sons’ education and daughters dropping out early. According to Zahidi, a Pakistani male is 30% more likely to go to middle school and 10% more likely to go to university than their female counterparts. Men are more prominent in the workforce, but when women make it, they are only paid 20% of a man’s earnings. In Switzerland, even if women and men go through similar education, men are still more likely to join the workforce, have a higher wage, and twice as likely to be in leadership positions. Women have limited opportunities to enter the workforce; when women finally get the chance to go into the workforce, they are subjected to oppressive discrimination. Although there is a huge gender wage gap right now, there is a possibility that this gap will close.

Prospectively, it will be another 81 years before gender parity is abolished. The health and education gap for women are almost nonexistent yet the political and economic gap are extremely wide. Since the health and education gap are narrow, this means there is a chance for the economic gap to close. Studies show women being in the workforce leads to more prosperous and enriching outcomes. A multiplying effect happens when women are more educated and healthier, their children are too. When women are at the top of their companies, they outperform others 13% in the stock market. Women, rarely seen in higher standings in the workforce, benefit companies and have a better impact. However, women are less confident to go for higher paying jobs or ask for raises so they miss out on numerous chances to go up the social ladder. The impact women have in companies are apparent, but companies still prize men over women. Stereotypical thoughts persist like how men perform better than women in general and women are too troublesome to join labor forces because of child rearing and household responsibilities. These notions hurt a woman’s progress in the workforce, but there are solutions for gender parity being put forth.

One solution is a collaboration between leaders of companies to put forth ideas on how they can solve gender equity. Companies still perform in out-dated structures; the stereotypical thinking of women at home being caregivers and the division of labor being mainly men. Although most of these leaders are men, they still have immense power and influence to change these outdated structures. They can start changing the environment of how people are hired, paid and promoted. Furthermore, they can dismantle the societal norms blocking women from having equal opportunities in the workforce. Although the progress to obtain economic gender equality is slow, the influence from company leaders are working and the benefits about women being in leadership positions are spreading. Some companies are successful in integrating these policies or strategies for closing the gender wage gap. By collaborating, many companies can adopt and learn from these strategies and integrate more women in higher standings in companies. Enacting these plans are difficult, but these collaborations and spreading of information will push others to try to lessen the gender wage gap.

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American Association of University Women (AAUW) helping to end the gender wage gap since 1881.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) is an organization set on bringing down the gender wage gap. This organization was started in 1881 and its goal is to end workplace discrimination and open opportunities for women in the workplace. AAUW states,  “Despite civil rights laws and advancements in women’s economic status, workplace discrimination still persists” (p.3). Even if numerous laws are enacted, many companies are not following these protocols. Most companies forbid their employees from talking about their wages, leading to them not knowing about the gap in their income. Race is also a factor in the gender wage gap where women of color are paid less than their Caucasion counterparts. Early in a woman’s career, they face a wage gap of 20% and go on to lose millions of dollars throughout their whole lives. The abundant loss of money leads to women not being able to support their families, paying off debts, or unable to have stable retirementment savings. AAUW are pushing for strong pay equity legislation and full enforcement of current laws. They hold programs and workshops to teach women how to negotiate for a higher wage. AAUW empowers women by educating and giving them the skills they need to fight gender inequality in the workplace.

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