One of the most apparently problems with gender and economic growth lies within a simple concept called the gender wage gap. As I previously mentioned in the post regarding problems, the problem lies in its name. Why do women tend to get paid less when producing the same amount of work in offices? This problem can be alleviated by making gender equality a reality. Some causes cannot be changed such as women being the ones giving birth and the patriarchal society we are living in. From various sources, women make 60 – 80% of what men make in many jobs and vary in the states also.
A proposition by the Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force, established by The White House in attempt to close the wage gap, described an app to educate people about the salaries of different jobs to educate the public about the wage gap and how employers are underpaying some employees. Another effort to close this gap was a release of data by Salary.com to educate people about salaries they should possibly be receiving. I believe educating the general public about the salary of their current job will help them obtain a clear idea of what they should be paid.
Studies also show that unions offer a higher tendency of following the wage gap than those are not part of one. The researches show that the gap differs by about 8% in favor for those in a union. One of the main reasons why unions help reduce the wage gap is exact the same as the purpose of the actions by the Task Force and Salary.com. They reduce wage secrecy to raise awareness of rightful salaries and fight against salary discrimination.
As I said in the very beginning, women should not punished simply due to the fact that they are the ones with the biological capability to give birth. According to an analysis by the Census Bureau, half of the working mothers did not receive a paid maternity leave. About three-quarters of women will get pregnant which means about three-eighths of women in the work force will not get paid for something that is biological.
One solution that struck me was the idea of creating a paternity leave to complete the idea of a parental leave. This allows men to also have a period off work to take care of the wife and the child. According to a source, many firms consider this leave to be a “disability,” which I find outrageous.
By having educating the public about different salaries for the same or different jobs will allow employees to argue against wage discrimination whether they are part of a union or not. Creating a paid job leave for both parents takes out the “inequality” for men who think women are having through the nine months of pregnancy.
http://rooseveltinstitute.org/new-roosevelt/how-fix-gender-wage-gap-going-far-beyond-app
http://www.financialsamurai.com/gender-wage-gap/
I really like your comments about the maternity/ paternity leave. Because childbirth is deemed as only a woman’s concern, women are in many ways chastised for taking maternity leave. Therefore your idea of creating a paid paternity leave policy at work is a great way of allowing both parents to be near their new baby. This would as well create a more progressive social opinion that fathers are just as responsible and involved with the birth of their children as mothers are. Therefore, hopefully with time men will see paternity leave not as you say, a disability, but an important part of bonding with the child they assumably wished to have.
In terms of your social app plan to educate young people about the wage gap, I think the plan is a great starting point in solving gender equality. But, even if we educate the new generation about equality, there will never be complete change unless this progressive economic equality is really adapted into the workplace. Therefore, more solutions involving the wage gap should include employers and CEO’s actually paying women equal amounts of money as men. This would require either offering companies financial incentive for equalizing pay, or by introducing more companies who make gender equality and eliminating the wage gap a priority in their company.
I think your solution to educate the public about salaries by essentially releasing salary numbers is great. This would increase company transparency to determine if there is underlying biases within their work decisions. It would, like you said, also give women a basis to negotiate their salaries if needed, which can decrease the wage gap they face. I also talked about paid leave for both parents because it would help the developing child grow with both parents contributing as well as decrease biasedness in saving maternity leave money by hiring a male. This is a great idea that will help the cause of gender inequality but will need government intervention for this to be enforced. With that in mind, forced legislation would probably also be necessary for salary exposure in order to increase legitimacy and ensure no data has been falsified. The solutions you came up with will be effective once we have the means to implement them.
I believe everyone should have the right to get an equal wage based on similar wages in their position in the industry. I agree with your point that people should be educated and have a clear idea of what people at their current job are paid. It is a widely known fact that women simply do not negotiate wages compared to their male counterparts. Likewise is the maternity leave for which many women (especially in the private sector) are not paid for. Like you said, they shouldn’t be punished for being biologically selected to be able to give birth. In the progressive society we live in in New York City, every woman should be able to have paid maternity leave to be able to care for her child and still be able to pay for rent, food, and utilities. Likewise men should also be allowed a paid paternity leave so they too can spend time with their children instead of slaving away at a job due to the mother having unpaid maternity leave. Its a win win situation for both genders and it makes sense.