Discrimination Against Female Employees In Terms Of Pay

EVALUATE THE EVIDENCE FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST FEMALE EMPLOYEES IN TERMS OF PAY Name of Writer Name of Professor Dated Discrimination against Female Employees In Terms Of Pay Introduction Men are paid more than women in nearly every occupation. There is substantial evidence for the vast pay gap that exists between men and women. This paper investigates and evaluates the difference in wages between the genders, and identifies and explains the differences that include occupation, age, level of educational qualifications and other relevant factors. The paper also debates and emphasizes areas where action is needed to address this complex issue cohesively, and what social pressures and norms effect and influence the kinds of occupations and careers that women and men pursue, and therefore the wages that both genders are paid. Discussion Wage Scales for Men and Women Men earn more than women in both full time and part-time jobs. The hourly pay for full time employees’ in 2016 was 18.1% less for women than for men, while part time female employees earned 9.4% less than men in most instances CITATION Bry17 \l 1033 (Brynin, 2017). However, in some part time jobs, women earned 6% more than men. The trend is rapidly changing because more women are acquiring professional degrees than men. Despite having the same degrees and having identical job responsibilities, women who are joining the workforce still maintain that they will be paid less than men. The social security system also favors men because working women pay 22% more tax on every paycheck than men CITATION Bry17 \l 1033 (Brynin, 2017). There are several contributory facts for this constant disparity that includes instinctive partiality, work-related or professional segregation where women are hired in lower paying jobs and do not have equal representation with men in higher paying jobs. Women are also given lower starting salaries than men, and they are not promoted as rapidly as men. There is not enough institutional support for women, and policies must be made and implemented for creating equal rights for women. The policies must necessitate child care and paid leaves for solving family issues CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walker, 2018). Women in male dominated professions However, if women working in their existing jobs in male-dominated occupations like female civil engineers were given the same scale as male engineers that would close 68% of the pay gap between men and women. One other way for measuring the effect of occupation is to estimate what would happen if the collective gender gap were equalized, and if the earnings of both genders were equal in all professions. That would balance earnings within occupations, and each profession would matter much more than standardizing the scope of every occupation CITATION McG18 \l 1033 (McGuinness & Pyper, 2018) The singularity is not only in low-skilled and low paid professions and women must educate themselves out of the gender pay gap, and acquire formal credentials. However, despite women performing better than men in the acquisition of educational qualifications, they are still paid less than men in most occupations. Men who have a high school degree still earn more than women who attended college but did not graduate. The gap has grown since 2000 and still persists in many occupations and in most companies that hire both men and women CITATION McG18 \l 1033 (McGuinness & Pyper, 2018). Figures showing wage gaps The figures regarding gender pay gaps of UKs largest companies show that nearly all the companies that employed both genders, paid men more than women for the same jobs. In these companies around 7% of women were being the same as men while 13% women were earning more than men CITATION Pal18 \l 1033 (Palumbo & Guibourg, 2018). CITATION Pal18 \l 1033 (Palumbo & Guibourg, 2018) The gender wage gap exists partly because of the collective influence of many factors during the course of a woman’s life when they are treated differently than their male peers. Parents expect their sons and not their daughters to earn a degree in science, technology or mathematics fields, and they influence their daughters into careers like nursing or other jobs that do not pay as well as jobs like engineering etc. Expectations usually become self-fulfilling prophecies because studies have found that girls themselves rate their competence lower than boys, even when the girls performed at par with men CITATION Bla171 \l 1033 (Blau, 2017). Parental influence Parents, both fathers and mothers are more likely to say that women are better suited to be home makers and that men should be the ones who should acquire higher degrees to work outside the home in various professions. This establishes a co-relation although there is no viable reason to believe that boys would be better than girls to work and pursue highly paid careers. Parents’ expectations influence performance and impact their children’s self-confidence, although girls usually have higher test scores than boys CITATION Tas16 \l 1033 (Taskinen et al., 2016). Company Policies Company policies are mostly responsible for paying women less than men, and women are denied the opportunities provided to men for entering into careers that pay highly, and the men are rapidly promoted. Such discrimination can be rectified if women workers knew their rights and demanded them according to prevailing laws that guarantee equal rights for women, and they have legal representation for obtaining these rights Frequently it is assumed that the disparity in the pay gap is not discrimination against women but is a statistical fact that does not consider several factors that are responsible for this pay gap CITATION Wal18 \l 1033 (Walker, 2018). The point is that gender pay gaps exist in every field of work, even though women may have the same or more experience than her male counterparts, or might even be more qualified for the job than men. The decision about pursuing careers are usually not taken by women themselves but are shaped by the environment that they live in. The hard work and long hours that are necessary for the best paying occupations usually make it difficult for women to be successful because they have to take up the responsibilities of the family. Many professions favored by women such as nursing, office secretaries and receptionists etc., have become lower paid because of the competition among women for these positions CITATION Haa16 \l 1033 (Haas et al., 2016). Jobs women prefer to work at Women themselves choose to enter into lower paying occupations such as receptionists, clerks and secretaries. The decision to enter into these jobs is usually shaped by societal norms, family expectations and very many factors that are beyond the power of women. By the time that women enroll in college, they are already evaluating their careers and available opportunities differently than men. Women increasingly opt to enter the medical field, and they dominate the nursing profession because they are not interested in making careers in engineering, computer science and physics as are men. The decisions made by women about their career prospects do not take place in a vacuum because many women just do not even think of entering fields that they consider being the domain of men CITATION Bey14 \l 1033 (Beyer, 2014). Besides their career perceptions, women can also be discouraged to make their careers in industrial fields because of the prevailing industrial culture. Even women who pursue STEM careers might face a hostile environment from their employers which limits the number of women working in industries. A study found 52 percent of women working in the science, technology and engineering fields had to leave their jobs because of extreme job pressure and a hostile work environment. Extreme job pressures mean being available 24/7 and working more than 100 hours per week. In addition to the work environment, women spend more time in household chores than men CITATION Mih16 \l 1033 (Mihăilă, 2016). Cultural norms and expectations Women cannot handle the extreme work pressure because of these cultural expectations and norms,. Cultural norms, societal expectations play a major r...