Women in this day and age are still earning substantially
less than men. Before researching the topic of men and women in the workforce,
I had little knowledge about sex discrimination that is still going on in our
world today. I did not realize that men make about seven percent more than men.
Recent college graduates were paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to their male
counterparts. A group called the “American Association of University Women”,
examined the gap between men and women who worked full time. The average age
was a 23 year old with no children. Even if a woman were to graduate with the
same degree as a man, they would still get paid sustainably less than a
man. These facts show that men still are
being treated better. A woman has the responsibility of doing most household
work, but they are still being paid less! Women are seen as caretakers. The
occupations that follow under these categories are secretaries, teachers,
counselors, ect. Men are drawn to more of the “manlier” occupations, which are
engineering and science, and typically pay a lot more than the occupation of a
teacher. There has been a lot of debate when
taking in account the wages of men and women. Some say it could be straight
discrimination against women, but some may say that it is an issue of men being
drawn to occupations that will pay more. Looking at the different gender roles and
what is expected out a man or woman in our society make connect to the bigger
picture at hand, the gender wage gap. Enforcing laws against sex determination isn’t
enough to stop the gender pay gap. We, as people living in the US, need to
adopt policies and gender expectations that enable women and men to care for
families in order to see an end to the gender pay gap.
I absolutely agree with your post! Why is our society so persistent in holding fast to these old, patriarchal beliefs of “the man works, the woman stays at home” when they’ve really only been around the past 80-or so years? Before the Industrial Revolution, most of the labor to be done was around the house and unless I’m mistaken, a lot of the labor revolved around agriculture. This meant that dads and moms helped out equally around the house. Especially because the purpose was to be able to sustain your offspring until they could get out of the house and start their own families.
ReplyDeleteYes, I am a firm believer that the belief that men pick higher paying jobs is ridiculous. There are different women (as there are men) who have different cravings for different professions. That is just another prejudice they push on women from those cycles of oppression. These gender roles that they force on us are ridiculous. I couldn't cook a proper pot roast if someone had a gun to my head. I don't think this makes me any less of a woman. All these gender roles do is limit us. They put us in boxes that were made for us. It's time we speak out loud about how we are not going to play the roles that were made for us anymore. The simple truth is that gender roles have nothing to do with it. Men are getting paid more. That is all that should matter to anyone. There are numerous factors but it doesn't get past the point that MEN ARE GETTING PAID MORE. It needs to change. We need to break that glass ceiling and put something between the gap because all this is bull. Just as the blogger says.
ReplyDelete-Rachael Belcher