By Steffanie Martinez |Staff Writer|
The fact the gender wage gap is still an ongoing issue is a sad reality of 2016.
On average, women not only earn less than men but they also must work longer for the same amount of pay.
Women are still earning 79 cents to the dollar in comparison to men, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families.
More specifically, women of color earn even less; they earn 55-to-64 cents to the dollar white men get paid.
“Women are not getting the fair shot that we believe every single American deserves,” stated President Barack Obama on the seventh anniversary of signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
The Fair Pay Act ensures that those affected by unlawful pay discrimination are able to state their right in a court of law.
This act was signed back in 2009, so why is the gender gap issue still not resolved?
Much has changed since then; there are countless numbers of women doing the same jobs as men, yet their pay does not reflect that.
This past week Obama discussed the new rules that come as part of the Fair Pay Act—rules that will be expected to take effect September of this year.
Companies with more than 100 workers have to provide the government with data of employees’ salaries broken down by sex and race.
It is an exciting move considering it will give transparency to the gender pay gap issue, giving insight into which companies are part of the problem.
However, not everyone is behind the Fair Pay Act.
It is not surprising that some companies would be against this act, considering it would allow their employees the opportunity to file a law suit against them if they feel discriminated against in terms of unequal pay.
Unequal pay can be difficult to talk about. If one finds out that their coworkers earn more or less than you, it can become an uncomfortable situation.
However, some women in the workforce are simply lacking awareness about unfair pay wages.
How can you fight against discrimination you are not aware of?
There are many theories as to why the gender wage gap exists. Those theories include men being more aggressive in terms of moving up, women taking maternity leave, lack of women in certain job fields, among other things.
Regardless of those theories mentioned, women making 55 to 79 cents in comparison to the dollar a man is unacceptable.
Moving forward with the Fair Pay Act will not only give the public perspective of what’s going on, but hopefully encourage companies to hire more women in areas that are lacking, and minimize the wage gap.
As a full time female employee working for a company who puts women in the forefront, I have hope that when I enter the workforce in regards to my career the wage gap won’t be a problem.
There’s no reason why a woman should not be getting paid the same amount of money as a man.
I want to encourage women who are personally affected by the wage gap to feel empowered and speak up.
The government is taking small steps in the right direction, but who better to tackle this issue than women who are actually experiencing it?
Jerry Boggs says
February 10, 2016 at 2:43 PMRe: "Time to shrink the gender wage gap"
Feminists have been saying this for almost half a century.
I hate to say it, Ms. Martinez, but you are woefully behind the times and understand virtually nothing about true gender equality.
That's because you no doubt refuse to read — never mind consider — views such as:
"Salary Secrecy — Discrimination Against Women?" malemattersusa.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/salary-secrecy-discrimination-against-women/
“The Doctrinaire Institute for Women's Policy Research: A Comprehensive Look at Gender Equality” www.malemattersusa.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/the-doctrinaire-institute-for-womens-policy-research/
Excerpt:
In general, American women don't just enjoy better health and live longer than men, who on average die sooner and at a higher rate of the 12 leading causes of death. (That longevity gap has more than doubled in the U.S. since 1900.) They as a group also control most of the consumer spending, which is about 70% of all economic activity in the US.
Even more striking, women control most of the nation's wealth. "Seventy-six percent of Americans believe that men control more wealth than women. But a new survey of Federal Reserve Board data reveals that women actually control 51.3% of personal wealth in the United States." www.pbs.org/ttc/headlines_economics_philanthropy.html
Soon women will control an even greater percentage of the wealth.
"Over the next decade, women will control two thirds of consumer wealth in the United States and be the beneficiaries of the largest transference of wealth in our country’s history. Estimates range from $12 to $40 trillion. Many Boomer women will experience a double inheritance windfall, from both parents and husband." -http://www.she-conomy.com/facts-on-women
The typical wife is younger than her husband by 2.5 years and she outlives him by five. Thus she enjoys her and her husband's wealth 7.5 years longer than the husband, who much more often than she created their wealth alone.
To put these statements in the proper gender perspective, reverse the sexes in them:
In general, men don't just live longer than women (that longevity gap has more than doubled since 1900) and enjoy better health than women, who on average die sooner and at a higher rate of the 12 leading causes of death. They as a group also control most of the consumer spending and most of the nation's wealth. Soon they will control even more.
Just by themselves, the statements would signify enough unfair male power, privilege, and advantage that feminists would explode out onto the streets in visceral, thunderous protest.
Women are hardly the oppressed group that the Democrats want us to think women are — the group that is actually the longer-living, healthier, AND wealthier group.