Comparable Wage example essay topic

"April third has been declared by Feminist and labor groups as 'Equal Pay Day' because it supposedly takes 93 calendar days for women's wages to catch up to men's". 3 Many people believe that sex discrimination is the main reason for the pay gap. However, several factors must be taken into consideration. On average, women earn 74 cents for each dollar earned by the male population.

This number is calculated by comparing median annual earnings of men and women. But several other differences between the sexes make up for the variation in pay. Work experience, education, background, skills, and other lifestyle choices account for much of the pay gap. These factors cannot be ignored because they account for a large part of the discrepancy in wages between men and women. For example, when considering education, it is interesting to note that 14 percent of all master's degrees earned by women were in business management. In contrast, white men earn 44 percent of the degrees.

Furthermore, only 14 percent of women in business actually aspire to be a CEO, compared to 45 percent of men. 3 Lifestyle choices also contribute to the difference in wages. Many women are willing to devote more of their time and attention to parenting rather than their professions. Consequently, women who choose to divide their time between work and their family life will undoubtedly earn less. In fact, women ages 27-33 who have no children actually earn 98 percent of men's wages according to the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. 1 As these examples suggest, discriminatory pay practices persist, leading to lower wages for women, even when they perform the same job as men.

2 It is difficult to decide what can be done to close the wage gap between men and women. However, several steps have been taken to ensure equal opportunities for both sexes. For example, the Pay Act of 1963 prohibits unequal pay for equal or substantially equal work. Also, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits wage discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin.

3 In reality, it would not be feasible to lower men's wages in order to compensate for the difference in pay. Obviously the male population would protest, families would be stripped of their wealth, and many homemakers would be forced to find jobs. However, raising women's wages so they are comparable to men's is certainly a possible solution. This is important because approximately 1/3 of all working mothers are the sole or primary source of income for their families. 5 While raising working women's wages may increase costs to businesses, it is the only solution if a company resolves to follow the regulations set forth to ensure equal pay for equal work, which by law, they are required to do. Most likely businesses will not be inclined to absorb these costs but rather pass them on to the consumer.

However, in order to remain competitive they may find it wise to keep their customers happy or else they may lose them. To achieve this, they most likely will have to "eat the cost" of providing equal pay for women. I believe that this change in policy would make more jobs available. Presumably, more women would aspire to senior executive positions and those previously dominated by males. The opportunity to make equal pay to that of their counterparts would draw more women into the workforce and consequently into upper management positions. The issue of a "comparable wage" raises many questions concerning which types of work are actually comparable.

It is difficult to classify different occupations which require the same training, skills, and education to perform the duties required. Consider sales. A person who sells a cell phone is not much different than one who sells cars. The position requires minimal educational background, but a large amount of experience. Both must be excellent in customer service and pushing sales. The promise of bonus checks and commission lure many people into these positions.

There is always the opportunity to make extra money rather than just accepting the same pay check month to month. While the job duties are similar in most sales positions, the wages are not always comparable. For example, the person working at a cellular company will most likely not make as much commission as one selling new cars. It just depends on what is being sold and the percentage of commission the employee agrees upon when hired. Teaching professions can also be compared. One who decides to earn a degree in elementary education most likely realizes that he or she will not earn as much money as a Harvard professor will.

While the jobs are similar and both in the same field, the pay should not be equivalent. You might say that it takes a great deal of patience to teach a Kindergarten class, so those teachers should be paid accordingly. However, it takes much knowledge and experience to become a professor of a prestigious university and that should consequently be rewarded. Now consider supervisors of differing positions. A supervisor of a small business such as an unemployment office and a supervisor of a large firm both hold comparable positions. However, the person who supervises a large firm will undoubtedly earn more income.

This does not seem fair since the jobs are equal in nature of education and skills. Yet, life is not fair and the corporate ladder is a term that dominates many professions. Reputation, respect, and name have a lot to do with how much one is paid. An unemployment office supervisor in all probability does not get much respect for his work, but the supervisor of a profitable business seemingly has earned his position and prosperity by climbing his way up the corporate ladder. Some people have suggested the use of "proportional hiring" in order to reduce discrimination in employment. This practice would give businesses a quota or certain percentage of men, women, and minorities to be hired.

This number would correlate with the group's percentage in the population. I do not believe that this system would be practical or useful. There is a clear need for means to detect discrimination in hiring, but proportional hiring is not necessarily the answer. In addition, proportional hiring does not necessarily indicate fairness in hiring.

For example, the Metro Toronto Police Department's hiring policies during the NDP regime were designed to ensure that 50 percent of its new hires were women - even though 76 percent of the applicants were male. 4 Obviously, in order to meet its quotas, the police department was hiring women who were less qualified than many of the rejected male applicants. Evidently, the best people are not always getting the jobs. By favoring less qualified candidates to reduce discrimination, proportional hiring policies put all of society at risk.

But the qualifications gap also creates resentment and tension because those with better qualifications work alongside inferior colleagues. Because the under qualified are more likely to be women or minorities, instead of racism and sexism declining, stereotypes are strengthened and resentments increase. Obviously hiring goals would not be fair or appropriate in order to equalize the pay between men, women, and minorities. In order to close the wage gap, some have suggested recruiting women into fields which are mainly dominated by men. For women, this is an encouraging proposal.

There are many women who do not feel as though they are cut out for traditionally female positions such as secretaries, teachers, and nurses. By opening up routinely male positions to women, equal pay and employment can be carried out. However, would it then be necessary to recruit men into jobs in which they are commonly not represented? I do not believe that this is a wise idea. Generally men who become nurses, teachers, and personnel workers do so because of a special interest or yearning for that position. Few unemployed men would go through the want ads and pick a nursing job over a manufacturing or technical one.

In fact men only make up 5.4 percent of registered nurses in the United States. 4 The task of recruiting men into these positions would be difficult. I believe that there is still a large portion of the female population who enjoy female-dominated positions. Therefore, there would not be a need to enlist men into these professions. The wage gap between men and women will not be solved overnight. Many solutions have been offered by various groups, but women continue to face discrimination which lowers their pay.

However, progress is being made. In a growing number of professions such as engineering, university administration, and economics, the wage gap is almost non-existent. Additionally, many companies and other organizations have created innovative programs to open up new opportunities to women and minorities. Affirmative action has also become a critical tool for preserving women's economic security and that of their families.

Bibliography

1 Bel sky, Gary and Berger, Susan, "Women Could Be Big Losers if Affirmative Action Fails", Money August 1995.
2 Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings, Table 22, January 1994.
4 Internet. "Differences in Economic Characteristics Account for Most of the Measured Gender Pay Gap". The American Workplace, 1998.
web Silverman, Mark "Wages and Choices" Detroit News. com, April 3, 1998.
5 Zy man, John, "Ask a Working Woman", Working Women's Department National Survey Executive Summary (1997).