The professional and personal impact on society Research

Soc 1 Student Name
Sigmon/TA Surname Date
Gender Wage Gap:
The professional and personal impact on society
Research Question: What are the societal effects of gender pay inequality in the professional and personal aspects?
Thesis: The gender wage gap is one of the injustices that are still present in the modern world. This inequality presents problems in the workplace, such as wage, motivation, and work opportunities, but also affects the personal lives of women especially in the family setting, creating a much greater impact than what is initially perceived by society.
In the modern-day and age, many of the medieval injustices have already been addressed and changed to support a world that values society and its people. But, one of the ongoing issues that still need attention and reform is the gender wage gap. This kind of social inequality is associated with unequal opportunities, imbalance in power, and discrimination in the workplace because of an individual’s gender.
This reality exists and affects women in the workplace. There are some industries where there is equity in the salary and benefits that are received by both men and women, but there are still many industries that are not making any changes towards having a more fair and balanced pay for their employees. In the 20th century, the wage received by women is about 60% of the average salary that a man earns, and this gap has come into a plateau (Bleiwels, 2020). This gap between the salary of men and women is so evident that work industries are labeled as male-dominated or female-dominated occupations for women to avoid the constraints that are presented because of the gap because it is not just about the age, educational background, work experience, and level of expertise that become the basis of workers’ salaries.
The effects of gender wage inequality in the workplace and organizations
This social inequality issue involves financial matters but also the workplace culture and dynamics. Most of the managerial positions in different industries are given to male employees, and most of the administrative positions and workloads are assigned to females. In various studies and surveys, even those who are on the same level and position experience differences in salary just because of their gender. Male employees are paid more and this promotes discrimination, unrecognized work efforts, and abuse of power. These kinds of behavior lead to a lot of female employees to quit their current jobs and find an organization which does not showcase social inequality in their workplace. There are also negative perceptions when it comes to women having children in comparison to men because the commitment of women in doing their job excellently is questioned due to other responsibilities at home, but men are praised for doing their roles and it is something that reflects positively to them, which adds to the negative work culture (Gould et al., 2016).
Due to the unequal pay because of gender difference, the male employees have more opportunities to improve their skills by investing in their continuing education or other programs that may help the employees advance in their chosen career paths. This further fuels the gap, not only in the salaries but also in the skill level that also poses a long-term negative effect on the female employees.
The issue also affects the peak years that women are able to get paid the most during their years as part of the workforce. Men are found to reach their peak salary at a younger age in comparison to women. Men also have a longer duration of peak years before it plateaus and declines. The women in the workforce have short-lived years of peak salary with a younger age of plateau and decline, also affecting other aspects such as opportunities for growth, and having a secure retirement and savings fund.
The gap exists in both low-earning and high-earning occupations for female employees. Based on studies, women earn less than their male counterparts regardless of their position. The salary gap between males and females are seen to be more evident in high-paying jobs and top-earners. Those employees who are receiving minimum-wage accounts to where the salary gap is narrowest. The women who are in high-paying jobs are not exempted from both the gender wage inequality as well as discrimination at work, because they are heavily criticized for not being flexible with their schedu...