Gender Wage Gap: What are women getting paid so much less?

For years it was unspoken and taboo to talk about, but the topic have risen to the surface - why are
women paid so much less? In 2019, women earn $0.79 for every $1 made by men. That is wild!
The question that we need to ask ourselves is, are the laws that are in place for our country protecting
women? Most women would agree that they do not. There is no such thing as a glass ceiling, but rather
a brick wall. Women are being trapped in a position that is nearly impossible to get out of.

Although, men and women often taken different career paths. Women often, and is statistically proven,
that they choose occupations such as healthcare, education, administrative work, community, and social
services. Whereas, men often have occupations such as computer science, finance, installation and
maintenance, and engineering. Our occupations are very divided that has created an even greater divide
in our salaries. In order to dig further we need to understand these different occupations. These occupations
women have often are positions in which naturally have a lower salary. We also need to consider that women
often bare children, which does not directly get interpreted when looking at statistics and facts. Maybe we
need to consider it a “mommy tax” issue rather than a “women tax” issue. Women in their twenties and
thirties are often having children, requiring them to take time off work, therefore, their responsibility
has shifted outside of work. Often, employers see that as a negative factor, meaning that they are not
fully committed to the business, but rather to their family.
Women fall further and further behind when they become mothers, whereas men and fathers get more
and more opportunities presented to them because they are present and in the workplace. Women are
often the ones who take time off when they have a child. Women are often the ones leaving work to take
their kid of out school and or take them to an appointment. Maybe we need to switch our thought from a
women tax to a mommy tax.


More Information
Do you have Netflix? I highly recommend you to go to “Explained” and watch the episode on the
gender wage gap. It is a 15 minute that share credible information on the issue
around the gender wage gap.


How will we close the gap?
We need to demand change! There are currently two large corporations, Google and Nike, that are
being accused of wage discrimination, and we have an opportunity to speak out.


Sources:

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