Women Equal Pay Essay

Since the beginning of the “working woman,” women everywhere have been earning less than men for equal work. On average, women make only 80% of what men do. This gap in the American workforce is a prevalent issue that has led to the revolution of women everywhere, demanding equal pay. The main issue, however is that many people don’t care enough to actually implement a change. When looking at this topic through the ethical lense, it is easy to see that there are varying viewpoints on the wage gap, that both inhibit and aid in the fight towards equal pay. Today, women make up almost half of the workforce, bringing in money and supporting their families by earning pay for hard work. Kevin Miller’s article, “The Simple Truth about The Wage Gap,” discusses how, “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the earnings ratio hasn’t had significant annual change since 2007. The gap has narrowed since the 1970s, due largely to women’s progress in education and workforce participation and to men’s wages rising at a slower rate. Still, the pay gap does not appear likely to go away on its own.” With such little change happening regulate earnings, at this pace, the gap is going to exist for a long time to come. Despite many efforts made by women to fight for their right to equal pay, it just doesn’t seem to be enough. Miller states, in page two of his article, “As a rule, earnings increase as years of education increase for both men and women. However, while more education is a useful tool for increasing earnings, it is not effective against the gender pay gap.” Miller argues that despite the climb in female education, women’s median earnings are less than men's at every level of academic achievement. It is up to the individuals in power and large companies to chip away at the wage gap. Not only is the wage gap ever present in the US, but it …show more content…
Some experts argue, “women earn less because they choose less-demanding industries, occupations and work arrangements,” as stated in Josh Rossheim’s article, “Gender Wage Gap: Why it Exists, and how Women can Help Change It.” Not only is this this information degrading, but it also undermines a woman’s status in the workforce. In almost all cases of equal work, woman work just as hard to earn their place as men do, however, they almost always feel the need to prove themselves even more than men. The wage gap has made increasingly harder for women to make their way to the top in companies and major corporations. CNNMoney discusses this issue in a recent article titled, “Still Missing: Female Business Leaders.” Author Matt Egun begins his argument for women's equality by stating, “Out of 500 companies, there are only 24 female CEOs.” In most cases, the only way a woman is able to be accepted into an executive position, was a women previously in this role. The level that women are being overlooked for high workplace positions is increasingly high. It is even predicted that the number of women running major companies will fall to 23 in April. These staggeringly low numbers are a direct result of gender differentiation in the workforce. By putting women in places of power, issues like the wage gap would be more talked about and greater efforts would be made to permanently close the