In my post regarding the problems with gender and economic growth I identified the issue of the wage gap which is a problem that looms like a dark cloud over America’s economy. A simple, yet radical solution to this ever-present issue would be to reverse the situation and pay men less than women. This would clearly draw nationwide attention while the way the wage gap currently operates has not. I believe select employers should instill this new wage gap as soon as possible and pay men only about 78% of what a woman in the same position earns. Although this would prove to be controversial, I’m sure it would open the eyes of many Americans who are ignorant to the wage gap that handicaps women in today’s world. I’m sure if men were faced with this sort of injustice something would be done to change it, but given that women face this problem everyday it’s put on the backburner and not addressed as a serious issue.
Another problem I addressed was the accessibility of water in under-developed or climate devastated areas. As we’ve read in the articles women and girls are the ones mainly responsible for fetching water from what they hope are clean fresh water sources. Since they only have limited access to these water sources, I believe an initiative must be set up to supply these women with clean water for their families. I believe something can be done with the bars and restaurants of New York City that would supply these underprivileged with clean water. In the same way that bars and restaurants donate their left over food to charities I believe a similar type of initiative can be created. Another similar situation is Earth Hour which is recognized world-wide as the hour when we shut off all non-essential electricity in order to save energy. Perhaps bars and restaurants across the world could pledge to shut off all their water for one hour once a month in order to promote the conservation of water. Or for every drink served at the bar or restaurant, a fraction of the cost be sent to a foundation that sponsors the clean water initiative for areas that don’t have access to clean water. This type of foundation would ease the pressure on women who fetch water and allow for populations to grow and thrive rather than shrivel away by way of arsenic poisoning via the polluted well water.
A third issue I identified was that in the United States women are not guaranteed any money while on maternity leave. I found this appalling as so many other countries across the world offer women many months of maternity leave with either full pay or partially reduced pay. How can the United States of America not offer this type of security to their female workforce? I believe there is a very simple solution to this issue. In order to keep half our American workforce employed and satisfied we must offer the new and expecting mothers significant maternity leave with some sort of payment. This would widely increase job security for females following the next few months after childbirth. I believe this solution is simple and long overdue for the women of our workforce.
https://hbr.org/2014/12/what-hr-can-do-to-fix-the-gender-pay-gap
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/earth-hour-2015-millions-will-turn-off-lights-and-electricity-to-fight-climate-change-will-you-10138855.html
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/africa.shtml
wage gap is a huge issue, but I don’t think we can fix it by handicapping men. It is not their fault women make 77 cents for every dollar. I think your plan would be a cool idea for a single day – making it option for men to take home 78% of their salary for one particular day a year in protest of the gender wage gap. That would be a nice way to get men involved in the cause and make it clear that this is not just a woman’s issue.
I found your second solution interesting. Certainly supplying third world countries with fresh water would free women from such tasks and allow for them to specialize in some other type of activity. I like how you brought this issue to NYC and showed how we can get involved.
My final comment is regarding your solution for paid maternity leave. I definitely agree that women should be guaranteed maternity leave. I would like to add to your solution the availability of paid maternity leave for men. If both men and women are given maternity leave, we break the barriers of gender roles and create a new approach to how we raise children in America. It isn’t always the man who needs to make the money and the woman who needs to care for the family.