As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the most vexing problems of gender inequality in the workplace is the pay gap. The pay gap is a serious issue, with women roughly earning 77% of every dollar a man is paid, based on various studies conducted by interest groups, academic organizations, and even governmental entities. While there is no easy way to just close the gap, as economics is much more complicated than that, there are several steps and theories that can be worked out and tested. The pay gap may not close with a single legislation, though any step in the right direction would be positive.
One solution, besides the over encompassing Equal Pay Act, could be to lobby for a policy that ensures equal hourly wages. Now, solving the pay gap is not as simple as this, as various jobs pay their employees not only based on hourly wages, but continuous work with familiar clients like in the case of doctors and lawyers, and based on product, like in journalism fields. However,Harvard Labor Economist Claudia Goldin stated in the Forbes article, “A New Way to Close The Gender Gap” by Susan Adams, stated that pay based entirely on hourly wage is an excellent way of obtaining a step closer in equal pay rights, and she points out the pharmaceutical professions:”In contrast to fields like law or finance, where job-sharing doesn’t really work because clients want the same individual to focus on their case or transaction over a long period of time, pharmacy customers don’t care who fills their Prozac or Viagra prescriptions, as long as the person knows what she’s doing. That means that women can take long leaves and then come back and work part-time without suffering a wage penalty” (Adams 1). Regardless, there is still a wage discrepancy, of about 5-7% according to the article. Still economists like Jordan Weissman claim pharmacies to be “secret little altars to gender equality” (Adams 1). This is the type of institution we can look to in which basic programs, like equal hourly wage pay, can make the difference in closing the pay gap. This setting can be applied to various jobs that share this hourly pay set up, and for more diverse jobs, other steps can be taken that will need to be further explored.
I would also suggest the formation of a preparatory women’s focus group, to mentor women in college and prepare them for the realities and challenges in the workplace. Myself being a male individual with no work experience, I could not fairly identify the problems that women may encounter in the workforce. However, if a focus group mentored by woman from all walks of life started a program of that caliber, and if that program could have the same status and broad interaction as lets say famous campus greek life, considerable changes could be made. Some studies attribute to the gender gap being influenced by women not being active in asking for wages, or pursuing more technical jobs. Obviously this is not the only factor affecting the pay gap, but they may contribute, even if its as little as 1%. Fighting against this institutionalized sexism would be beneficial to all people, and certainly to women.
Lastly, there should be more information on the details of the wage gap. This gap is so debated and convoluted through red tape, political jargon, and survey errors and biases, that it is hard to track down conclusive data that all people will readily believe. The first step in solving a problem is addressing it. And once people address it, institutionalized sexism, right down from job selection to employers asking employees their current finances, can all be resolved.
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/03/19/a-new-way-to-close-the-gender-pay-gap/
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/02/22/bill-aims-close-gender-wage-gap/eAX5j5HxHZU9h14orWLXJJ/story.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/opinion/the-truth-about-the-pay-gap.html
I agree that one of the biggest problems facing the wage gap issue is all the misinformation surrounding it. Whenever the wage gap statistic is brought up, people often counter it by stating that women tend to choose to work in lower-paying industries than men. While this is true, studies show that women make less than men even when they work the exact same job and have the exact same levels of experience as their male colleagues. As you stated, part of this is due to the fact that women feel less confident about negotiating their salaries and asking for raises than men.
Moreover, since confidence is an issue for women, we have to ask ourselves why women choose to work in lower paying industries than men. Is it because they naturally enjoy certain types of work more, or is it because they are conditioned from a young age to feel intimidated by STEM disciplines? Although I do believe that women should have the right to choose to work in any field they want, I think we need to make sure that they are truly choosing their disciplines for themselves and that social norms aren’t deciding for them.
I agree with your solution regarding the Equal Pay Act that would ensure equal hourly wages for the same work, as it is the only rational solution to the issue. There is no reason women should be paid less for the same work. It is understandable that a woman might be paid less than a man in a job that is commission based, based on the fact that it is purely performance related. The better salesperson will reap the greater reward in terms of pay. Otherwise, in a day-to-day office job it is only ethical and reasonable that a person performing the same tasks as another be compensated in the same way. While it is true that women generally chose to hold positions that grant lower pay I would love to know why? Why are women geared toward these sorts of jobs? Should they not be entitled to the same positions and of course the same money as men? I believe a greater effort should be put toward empowering and building confidence in our women so they can move up in society and shatter the glass ceiling that lies above them.