My Response

In October of 2016, I wrote an opinion piece about the gender wage gap. About a week ago, I received a response from a student about their thoughts of this controversial topic. I call this topic “controversial” because there are many differing opinions about its relevance. This was brought to my attention in the student’s response. Within my October article, I use some borderline biased sources. I chose these sources because they supported what my thoughts were on this subject. However, I did not search for any claims that were against my own. In the following paragraphs, I have decided to show more recent statistics of the gender wage gap and provide other students’ opinions on this topic. It is important to me to have an inclusive newspaper. If you ever feel that your opinions are not being told, please let members of the newsroom know.

So, what is the gender wage gap?

The gender wage gap is a separation in pay between women and men in the same career field. The gender pay gap can be measured in different ways to make it look bigger or smaller. According to an article released by the National Partnership for Women & Families [NPWF], “Nationally, the median annual pay for a women who holds a full-time, year-round job is $40, 742 while the median annual pay for a man who holds a full-time, year-round job is $51,212.” Based on these numbers, it can be inferred that women in the U.S. are paid 80 cents to every dollar a man makes, translating to an annual gender wage gap of $10, 470 (NPWF, Apr. 2017).

What affects the gender wage gap?

There are many factors that affect the gender wage gap. A major influence on how much a women is paid in the same career field compared to their male counterparts is race. From NPWF’s article in April of 2017, “Among women who hold full-time, year-round jobs in the U.S., black women are typically paid 63 cents and Latinas are paid just 54 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.” However, “Asian women are paid 85 cents for every dollar paid to a white, non-Hispanic men, but some ethnic subgroups of Asian women fare much worse” (NPWF, Apr. 2017). Also, the wage gap also varies by state and congressional district, but it still has the constant trend of women who work full-time, year-round are paid less than men. In addition, the gender wage gap is influenced by age. The pay gap difference is just 2 percent for women and men between the ages of 16 to 24, but by the time a woman reaches 40, her pay starts to decrease very quickly (Picchi, Oct. 2016).

Also, the gender wage gap is influenced by motherhood. According to NPWF’s findings, mothers with full-time, year-round jobs are only paid 70 cents for every dollar paid to fathers. Another factor is the educational levels of women in career fields. For instance, “among full-time, year-round workers, women with doctoral degrees are paid less than men with master’s degrees, and women with master’s degrees are paid less than men with bachelor’s degrees.” (NPWF, Apr. 2017) Furthermore, the industry that women are working in can determine whether or not they are being paid close to the same as their male counterparts. For instance, women are only paid 88 cents to men in the industry of educational services. In addition, the gender wage gap is not only a problem in the U.S. It varies from country-to-country (Stahl, Dec. 2016).

What are women losing as a result of the gender wage gap?

It has been estimated according to the numbers provided by NPWF, “on average, women employed full time in the U.S. lose a combined total of more than $840 billion every year due to the wage gap.” Speculation has risen that if the annual gender wage gap was eliminated, it is estimated that a working woman in the U.S. could make enough money to have fifteen more months of child care, 78 more weeks of food for her family, 7 more months of mortgage and utilities payments, and 11 more months of rent, just to name a few. In retrospect, there are 15 million family households in the U.S. that are headed by women, and about 29 percent of those families have incomes that fall below the poverty line (NPWF, Apr. 2017).

Are there any fields that women are making more money than men?

Well, there are some non-traditional career fields that women can make more money than men. According to an article written by Ashley Stahl, a contributor to Forbes, “There are some fields that women make (a lot) more than their male counterparts, but these fields are all non-traditional, historically male-dominated fields including: boil makers (women make $15, 110 more than men), riggers ($12,300 more), small engine mechanics ($9,987 more), and non-oil and non-gas earth drillers ($6,604).”

What are some opinions from the students at DRSS?

* McKenna Toler, a junior, stated, “Yes, there is a lot of evidence that exists where women are being paid less than men in the same career field.”

* Steffi Cooper, a junior, stated, “Yes, because I have heard stories where they [women] are being paid less. Statistically, when negotiating wages, women are less pushy.”

I did some more digging into her statement, and I came across an NPR article about this topic written in 2014. According to the article, an assistant professor at the University of Texas, Emily Amanatullah said, “When women advocate for themselves, they have to navigate more than a higher salary: They’re managing their reputation, too. Women worry that pushing for more money will damage their image.” Also, the writer of the article, Ashley Milne-Tyte, added, “Research shows they’re right to be concerned: Both male and female managers are less likely to want to work with women who negotiate during a job interview.”

* Steffi Cooper also added, “I believe in equal pay for equal work. However, taking off time to be a mom, you cannot expect to be paid the same. On the other hand, I believe paid-maternity leave should definitely be the same as it is now.”

* Liam Albright, a junior, responded by stating, “Yes, I actually looked at a lot of articles, and there is evidence that there is differences in wages between men and women.”

* Adam Mitchell, a junior stated, “Yes, there is evidence to show that there is. I also have seen it shown on graphs.”

In conclusion, the gender wage gap does exist. It is important to acknowledge where there is discrimination, and there is definitely discrimination in the workplace. Women are being paid less than their male counterparts based on factors that are sometimes out of their control. I will end this story with a quote by the beloved Maya Angelou: “We are not our brother’s keeper—we are our brother and we are our sister. We must look past complexion and see community.”

Sources

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-gender-pay-gap-is-real-and-heres-who-is-hit-hardest/

http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace-fairness/fair-pay/americas-women-and-the-wage-gap.pdf (This source is where a majority of the statistics came from.)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2016/12/28/4-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-gender-pay-gap/#6e8462ba3326

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/04/08/300290240/why-women-dont-ask-for-more-money