When I went home to visit last weekend, I discussed with my mom some of the topics that we have covered, and will be covering, in our class. When I talked about Women in the Workforce, and the division that exists between men and women, she told me a brief story about her experience with labor division and the gender wage gap.
When my mom worked for an environmental waste management company in the '90's and early 2000's, she was given a specific salaried wage. My mom had previous experience in the field she was working, as well as a college degree. At the same time, there was a man employed by the company who held the same position as my mom, and did not have a college degree. However, this man was paid a higher salaried wage than my mom. There was no apparent reason as to why the gentleman was payed more than my mom, except for the fact that he was a man and my mom was a woman.
In an online blog post, blogger Bryce Covert explores the gender wage gap. Some of her findings made me think of my mom's situation, and I found them relatable. At one point she writes, "Not only do grads with newly minted BAs make less, but they keep making less than men with each subsequent degree, and the gap actually widens as they progress. They make less than men no matter what industry or occupation they enter" (Covert). If this notion is present between men and women that do have degrees, and it was also apparent in the situation with my mom.
All of this had led me to question: If we are aware the gender wage gap exists, why do we let it perpetuate?
http://www.thenation.com/blog/170794/inescapable-gender-wage-gap#
When we red about this topic in class I found myself asking the same thing. "Okay, so we have identified these different systems of oppression, but why do we still allow them to exist? Furthermore, how do we sincerely change them?" The only answer that I've come up with is to educate as many people as we can. Though this option can often seem slow moving and almost hopeless I think it is crucial that those who are conscious of oppression fight to dissolve it.
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