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Gender Wage Gap - Coggle Diagram
Gender Wage Gap
Causes
Undervaluing of Skills: Employers undervalue traditionally "feminine" occupations, although they may require the same or a greater amount of work than perceived "masculine" jobs. This practice is rooted in stereotypes and prejudice, many people believe that manual labor and caring for people don't take as much effort as other actions (GNB). People believe that "feminine" labor doesn't deserve the same amount of pay as "masculine" labor, since women have been performing such tasks unpaid for decades. This connects to increased depression and anxiety since the undervaluing of skills can lead women to feel as if they aren't good enough, or don't deserve the amount of pay they are entitled to.
Work Experience: Women are often forced out of work by employers when they have children, leading women to perform unpaid work for an extended period of time (Bleiweis). This tends to leave women with significantly less work experience than men, making them less hireable. This is rooted in the belief that women should remain at home rather than be in the workforce when they have a family.
Occupational Segregation: This occurs when higher-paying jobs are male-dominated and lower-paying jobs are female-dominated, depressing the overall wage of females overall. Men often tend to be hired for higher-paying jobs over women (AAUW). This practice is deeply rooted in misogyny and the belief that women can't perform the same level of work that men can. This cause can be connected to the effect of increased poverty, since women aren't often in positions that pay as much as much as the jobs that men are allowed to do.
Motherhood Penalty: This is when women's earning are negatively impacted as a result of starting or raising a family, whereas their male counterparts earnings go unchanged (AAUW). Once again, this practice is rooted in misogyny since companies are less like to hire or pay women, solely based on their status as mothers. The solution of donating to organizations that directly work with women affected by the motherhood penalty connects to this cause. Women receive financial compensation for the pay they aren't given when the choose to start families.
Current News: States in the western region of the United States tend to have a wider gender pay gap than the national average, with women making around 70% of what men do, compared to the national average of 82% (Johnson).
Solutions
Letters/Petitions to Policymakers: You can help pass the Paycheck Fairness Act by sending letters to Congress, calling your senator, and by encouraging your friends and family to do the same. The Paycheck Fairness Act will prohibit pay discrimination based on gender, allowing the gender wage gap to narrow (AAUW). The government has the power to make the necessary changes that will allow for the gender wage gap to close.
Donating to Organizations: The AAUW offers a way to donate to causes supporting the mitigation and effects of the Gender Wage Gap, such as the Greatest Needs Fund, Economic Security for Women, Leadership Initiative for Women, Education and Training for Women, and Governance and Sustainability (AAUW). Its mission is to advance equity for both women and girls.
Current News On October 22, 2021, the White House released the U.S. Government National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. This strategy will work to improve economic security and accelerate economic growth, close gender gaps in STEM fields, and advance participation in democracy, representation, and leadership, using an intersectional approach (Zmick, Gagnon).
CSTs
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers: Within the Gender Wage Gap, the fifth CST of the Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers is absent. The wage gap blatantly disregards work performed by women and venerates work done by men, seen through the undervaluing of skills. These actions don't comply with the right that workers have fair pay, since women who have the same job as men are paid significantly less.
Solidarity: The CST of solidarity is present in the solutions of the Gender Wage Gap. Along with donating to organizations that help fund women affected by the pay gap, people are working to transform unjust social, political, and economic systems that place women at a financial disadvantage. People are coming together to confront social and economic structures for the greater good.
Rights and Responsibilities: The third CST of Rights and Responsibilities is lacking in this issue since women aren't paid enough to comfortably support life. These actions prevent women from reaching full survival and thrival rights, leaving more women in poverty than men. The fulfillment of these fundamental rights is unachievable if women don't have the resources to meet them.
Effects
Increased Depression and Anxiety: Frustration from unequal pay becomes internalized and lead to an increase in depression and anxiety. This is also compounded by the fact that women perform "invisible" or unpaid labor, such as housework and childcare, which adds to the feeling that the work you do isn't valued (Stieg). This effect connects to the cause, undervaluing skills since women don't feel that their work is being adequately compensated for. The system inherently views "feminine" work as less valuable than other types of work.
Insecure Retirement: Since women don't get paid nearly as much as men do, they are unable to save as much money for retirement as their male counterparts do. Women contribute 30% less to retirement accounts than men do, leaving them at disadvantage for the future (GAO). This also forces women to work well beyond retirement, in order to make ends meet. This effect can be linked to occupational segregation, with men claiming most spots in higher-paying occupations, women are left less money to invest in their futures, having to deal with immediate expenses first.
Student Debt: As a result of prejudice and longheld misogynistic beliefs, women have consistently been at a disadvantage. Women have to spend more money and obtain more loans to go to college, but enter the workforce already not making as much as men do. This means that it takes longer for women to pay off student debt and the degree acquired as a result of the student debt isn't seen as valid in a workforce where men holding the same degree get paid more. Women hold around 2/3 of the nation's student debt, showing the severity of this issue (AAUW). This effect connects to the effect of insecure retirement since people are more inclined to pay off compounded student debt before saving for retirement.
Current News: Over the pandemic, sectors that largely employ women have been hit the hardest. This has caused many women to shift to a lesser occupation or leave the workforce completely. Bearing most, if not all childcare responsibilities during the pandemic, with children staying home 24/7, and working from home has caused a great amount of stress on working women (Mowry).
Prevalent Poverty: Since women are paid less for every dollar a man makes, they are more likely to struggle to cover everyday expenses. Not only do women have to worry about everyday expenses, but they also have to account for debt and childcare, among other things. Nearly 3% more women live in poverty, compared to the number of men who live in poverty (Bleiweis, Gaines, Boesch). This effect can also impact the lives of their families and children, who depend on them for support.