Skip to main content

Women in the Workforce - The Pay Gap


According to a report by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, men make more money in their lifetimes, even at the very beginning of their careers, in comparison with women.  In 2016, the weekly median difference between all men and women over 16 was $166.  While men’s salaries continue to go up during their 20’s through 60’s, women’s salaries show topping off in their 30’s and 40’s at about $200 less per week than men their same age.  Even after age 65, when both men and women’s salaries decline, the weekly salary of a woman still stays about $200 less than a man’s salary.  This is significant amount of money that can have an impact over a woman’s lifetime.  Two hundred dollars may not seem like much, but equals over $10,000 a year, and over $400,000 over a 40 year career (Women’s).  There are many reasons that these pay gaps exist.  Women are typically seen as the primary caregiver to children and over the domestic sphere. Many women who can afford to do so may choose to not work when their children are young.  This is one thing that can affect a woman’s pay during the time she is raising children, but can also have a lingering effect on her pay, due to stereotypes about women who take time off to raise their children by employers.  Some employers will view a woman with a child as a liability, as they will likely be the person that will need to stay home with a sick child.  Even women who do not have children yet or may not be interested in having children are forced to deal with hiring managers and decision makers that may decide not to hire or promote a woman who is in child bearing years.  Women are also less likely to select jobs that are outside the norm for their gender.  Often, this increases the pay gap, as historically male work positions are usually given higher pay.  Some women may choose a profession typically seen as female because they saw someone in that position growing up and chose that profession.  Some professions that are typically male may show hostility towards female workers.  Women have had to fight for the right to do some jobs.  One job that comes to mind is serving in the military, but there are many more. There are relatively few women leaders of large Fortune 500 companies.  Women have had trouble being seen as capable and competent to lead throughout much of history and we are still working on correcting the issue, one woman at a time.

Works Cited
"Women's and Men's Earnings by Age in 2016." United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, 25 Aug. 2017, www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/womens-and-mens-earnings-by-age-in-2016.htm. Accessed 30 Sept. 2018.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scott William Cox

In November of 1990 and February of 1991, two prostitutes were murdered in the Portland area.   These two murders were solved due to the realization of a possible serial killer in an unrelated assault and different law enforcement agencies working together.   In May of 1991, another prostitute in Seattle was severely sexually and physically assaulted and thrown from the cab of an 18 wheeler truck.   The victim had to be hospitalized as a result of the attack.   Even though the victim did not want to prosecute the case, the detective in charge realized that this attack showed signs of a current or future serial killer.   Police were able to track down a man by the name Seth Scott Cutter through the employer, the trucking company.   Police felt that Cutter could be the person responsible and information about Cutter was disseminated to neighboring agencies.   An officer from a different police department recognized the suspect as a local man named Scot...
Post a Comment
Read more

Male or Female? Issues Transgender People Face

            In “Aligning Bodies,” Judith Lorber and Lisa Jean Moore bring to light the burdens endured by people in our society that don’t necessarily fit into preconceived notions of sex and gender.   On a daily basis there are issues they must consider:   when filling out forms that ask for their sex, when going to the restroom and when showing legal documents that may not match the gender they identify with.   Transgender people may or may not have surgery on their chest and/or genitalia and/or face or other surgery and may choose to use hormone therapy.   Some people are born with ambiguous genitalia or with genitals or chromosomes of both sexes.   Yet others may identify as a gender different than their birth sex and choose to not alter their body physically.   There is a wide spectrum of people in our world that don’t neatly fit into the “F” and “M” boxes.   Society and individuals need to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Case Study of Serial Killer Dennis Nilsen

Dennis Nilsen is a Scottish serial killer, born in 1945.   When Nilsen was just 4 years old, his parents divorced.   He was eventually sent to live with his grandparents when his mother remarried.   At just 16, Nilsen joined the army and worked as a cook and butcher for many years.   He also briefly worked as a police officer.   Nilsen craved sexual relationships with men and feared abandonment of his lovers leaving him (Murray).   During the late 70’s and early 80’s, Nilsen took men or boys back to his apartments for sex (Dennis).   He would strangle the men to death while they slept and would wash the bodies periodically and keep them over the course of several weeks or months hidden under his floor boards.   Nilsen would bring the men’s bodies out to be with him, “watch” television with him, and lay in the bed with him.   Later, he dismembered the bodies and burned them in the garden, along with a tire to mask the smell of burning flesh....
Post a Comment
Read more