Gender Wage Gap: It’s Not Myth, It’s Math

Art+credits+to+Wanxing+Lu%21

Art credits to Wanxing Lu!

Sri Guttikonda ‘20

In modern society, women have opportunities that were not obtainable decades before, but the fight for equality with male counterparts persists. Despite women possessing the same capabilities and talents as men, discrimination in the workplace continues. After all, why else are women underpaid and their efforts underappreciated?

The topic of equal pay raises numerous questions and results in conflicting positions; however, the relevant question is why so much controversy surrounds these relatively straightforward ideas. If a woman puts in the same effort to accomplish a task as a man does, then their compensations should be identical as well. Yet, studies show that “when women and men attend the same kind of college, pick the same major and accept the same kind of job, on average, the women will still earn 82 cents [for] every dollar that a man earns”[1].

A United Nations survey reports, “Despite women’s increased participation in the labor market, there has been no significant increase in the sharing of unpaid work” [2]. Legislations as early as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 aimed to eliminate the wage disparity, and the more recent Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 similarly attempted to address pay imbalance. Regardless, it is evident that these acts remain largely unenforced and flouted, due the pervasive belief that women are incapable of serving in the same jobs as men.

No matter one’s opinions on female equality, undoubtedly women receiving fair pay would actually benefit society as a whole.

As mentioned earlier, women and men both spend thousands of dollars on tuition, owing roughly 25 thousand dollars a month. Consequently, repaying student loans is a crucial consideration for both genders. Hence, it is a stark disadvantage that women with the same amount of debt inherently have less of an opportunity to pay it back. An educated woman is burdened with loans which will just further erode her already subpar salary. Nina Punwani ‘18 claims, “This just means that less money is going back to the government, [which means] less for women to invest or start a business with.”

With our country already knee-deep in a multi-trillion dollar debt, actions targeting women’s salaries will make necessary reforms. Sameera Mathias ‘20 generalizes that “women are avid spenders, the more they make, the more they will be compelled to spend.”  This means additional money will go towards goods and services, acting as an incentive for the struggling U.S Economy. Furthermore, if women see a rise in their paychecks, others will be incentivized to join the workforce, furthering this effect.

But the truth is, this change is not something that will happen overnight. However, it is nevertheless something that must occur to heighten appreciation for women in our society. Females must come together to defy decades-old stereotypes and bring equality to men and women in the workplace.

 

[1]http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/10/24/163536890/equal-pay-for-equal-work-not-even-college-helps-women

[2] www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/WorldSurvey2009.pdf