Pay discrimination between men and women in the workplace

Gender Pay Discrimination in the Workplace

This work will examine gender pay discrimination in the workplace specifically in relation to the concepts of treatment discrimination and comparable worth policy. This is in terms of the definition of each concept in the discussion regarding gender pay discrimination in the workplace.

GENDER PAY DISCRIMINATION

"Gender Pay Gap Nothing to do with Discrimination" states that instead of making things better for women "equal pay and anti-discrimination legislation may in fact be counter-productive..." (Other Views, 2008) for women and men between the ages of 22 and 29 the average gap in full-time pay if "now less than one percent." (Other Views, 2008) Research findings show that men "tended to work longer hours and put in more overtime than women, with twice as many male as female managers working more than 48 hours a week." (Other Views, 2008) Stated as well in these findings is that men "had a greater chance than women of losing their jobs and suffering serious injury at work." (Other Views, 2008) Additionally, findings show that men "tended actively to seek higher pay and career success, while women were more likely to seek job satisfaction, even if it mean working for a lower salary."(Other Views, 2008) it is stated in this report that there is a "widespread belief that the gender gap is a reflection of deep rooted discrimination by employers..." But that this is not the case." (Other Views, 2008) the work of Castle (2008) entitled: "Public Gap between Sexes to go Public" states that there will be encouragement for companies to "public the pay gap between their male and female employees under proposed laws to encourage women to complain when they are underpaid..." Castle (2008) states that equality minister Harriet Harman informed BBC radio that "she wanted to tackle entrenched pay discrimination against women and to create a workforce more representative of society. The legislation would also permit positive discrimination in favor of female and ethnic-minority job candidates with equal qualifications. It would also outlaw discrimination against the elderly in social and health services. Public sector employers and suppliers to the public sector would be required to publish figures showing their average gender pay gap. We have structural discrimination on pay and we will be able to see it clearly for the first time, workplace by workplace. Women will be able to see they are paid less than men and will be able to complain about it and challenge it. Women in full-time employment earn 17% less than men, with the gap widening to 36% for women working part-time, according to government data. Figures for Whitehall departments show men on average earning 26% more than women in the Treasury, 21% more in the Department for Transport and 7% in the Department for Work and Pensions." (Castle, 2008)

The work of the AAUW entitled: "Behind the Pay Gap" in a press release states that new research released by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation indicates that in the first year following college "women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues, even when they work in the same field." (AAUW, 2007) the AAUW Educational Foundation reports that women, after one year of college early eighty percent of what their male counterparts earn. Ten years following college graduation "women fall further behind, early only 69% of what men earn." (AAUW, 2007) This is even after having controlled for hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors which may affect earnings. The gender pay gap "remains unexplained and is likely due to sex discrimination." (AAUW, 2007)

II. COMPARABLE WORTH in GENDER PAY GAPS

The gender gap has narrowed in the United States in a dramatic manner. The analysis of the decline in gender pay gaps are generally based upon two primary explanations of economists:

1) Differences in human capital investments or other qualifications; and 2) Labor market discrimination or differences in the treatment of men and women who are equally qualified for the job. (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2001)

In the attempt to explain "the decrease in the gender pay gap in the 1980s" which was a time in which "overall shifts in labor market returns were working against women as a group."(National Bureau of Economic Research, 2001) Analysis of this period was conducted with data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and findings indicate that women "were able to more than overcome the effect of adverse shifts in overall wage structure (that is rising labor-market returns to skills and to employment in high-paying male sectors) on their relative wages by improving their qualifications relative to men. So, although on average women continue to have less labor-market experience than men, they have narrowed the gender difference in experience considerably. They also have upgraded their occupations relative to men's, as they moved out of clerical and service occupations and into professional and managerial jobs. Women also have benefited from a decrease in the "unexplained" pay gap. Such a shift may reflect an upgrading of women's unmeasured labor-market skills, a decline in labor market discrimination against women, or a shift in labor market demand favoring women over men. Indeed all of these factors may well have played a role, and all appear credible during this period." (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2001) Since the relative level of measured skills of women as demonstrated by the narrowing of the gap in full-time job experience, it is plausible that they also enhanced their relative level of unmeasured skills." (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2001) This ultimately has raised the comparable worth of women in the workforce.

III. TREATMENT of WOMEN in GENDER PAY GAP